True Heroes: Year Two
by Michael J.J
Summary: To be updated "soon"
1. Invaded I: Abducted

A/N: Well, here we are, the beginning of another long story of super heroics. All I'll say is that this one won't take anywhere near as long to finish.

Disclaimer: Fairly Oddparents copyright Nickelodeon, Federator, and Viacom, created by Butch Hartman. Superhero trademark DC and Marvel.

* * *

The universe, to describe it in layman's terms, is big. Very big. So big that it had never been mapped out successfully by humans or any other race.

Yes, there were other races other than humans in the universe. In this universe, anyway. Humans were well aware of it, but since many of their visits resulted in invasions, they were not in any hurry in integrate them into their society. That being said, they probably wouldn't be too happy to know what was happening at that moment near Neptune.

A strange craft was sailing by the planet named after the Roman god of the sea. The craft appeared to be coated in chrome, its metallic appearance causing it to stand out in the blackness of space. It had a bowl-like shape to it, the curves only by two prongs on the bottom that appeared to be for landing and a fin acting as a tail. At the rim of the bowl shape the chrome ended and was replaced by glass, or a more durable substance more likely. The glass formed a dome, the shape interrupted by an antenna on top. Resting in the dome was something that appeared, at first glance, to be a giant brain. What it actually was, however, was anyone's guess.

The craft, however, was not unique. Following behind it were dozens, maybe even hundreds, of versions of the same vehicle, all silently flying through the vacuum of space.

Inside the lead ship was a room that could be identified as a cockpit, several creatures were working, none of them human. They looked like squids more than human, most colored green but a few light-blue ones were scattered around, but the top of their heads seemed to be made of glass, with their brains visible. A few were working controls, getting the ship to its goal, but the most important figure was behind them, raised off the ground several feet. He sat in one of a pair of chairs that was reachable through a small stairway, the other one empty. He lifted one of his tentacles and pressed a button on the side of his chair. Almost instantly a floating screen floated up from below him, displaying only a horizontal line running down the center of the screen. He then pressed a few more buttons, causing the screen to begin ringing softly. Then, suddenly, it stopped.

"Finally, is this my Yugopotamian partner?" the screen said, the line bending in tune to the voice.

"Yes, it is I, Mark Chang, prince of Yugopotamia," the alien said proudly. "Me and my, like, totally awesome fleet, are on our way to Earth at this moment. We should arrive in about nine thousand Yugopotamian days, which, in Earth measurements, should be, like, a few hours."

"Well hurry! I can't stand this moronic planet any longer! These filthy humans have been disgusting me like some…disgusting thing!" the being on the other end replied lamely.

"Do not worry, for soon, our mighty military alliance will totally have taken another step toward total universal conquest! Mark Chang out!" With that, the alien prince pressed another button, ending the conversation. "This is most excellent. We will totally conquer the planet Earth in the name of our glorious military alliance!"

"Oh Mark," a sultry voice came through the cockpit. It might have made a human interested, but it sent shivers down the prince's spine…or it would, if he was a vertebrate.

"Uh…what is it?" he said as another creature entered the cockpit. To a human's eyes, she would be pleasurable, but she made Mark flinch. She resembled a shapely human woman except for her yellow skin, elf like ears, sharp teeth and two thin antennas. She has sparkling green eyes and long, gorgeous purple hair that fell to her knees. She wore only a one-piece strapless dress that stopped just at the point of decency, with mid calf high heel boots that continued with straps up to her knees. Also adorning her was a silver band on her right thigh and two gloves. Her head was adorned with a tiara and earrings. Everything she wore was light blue and white, giving the image of crystal.

"Mark," she said seductively as she walked to his throne, slowly tracing his face with her finger, "we still have a few hours until we land on Earth. Why not spend it…getting closer?"

Despite everything, Mark cringed. "Um, I really should look over the fleet, we're mere hours from Earth…"

"Your men can handle it, let's go cuddle," she smiled, walking her fingers up what could pass for his chest.

"But hideous Princess Mandie, our battle operations must be looked over once more before…"

The prince stopped when the seductive alien turned her expression to a glare. "Cuddle…with me…now!"

Mark gulped. "O-of course," he said, reluctantly slipping his tentacle into her grip. Giving a loving, yet somehow still sinister grin, Mandie led him into a private room, with the Yugopotamian prince silently trembling the whole walk.

* * *

Back on Earth, in the town of Dimmsdale, California, a boy in a red superhero uniform walked through the hallways of the dorms of the Dimmsdale Superhero Academy. Though his three-month vacation was great, he had wanted to get back to school since summer started.

After all, he was Cleft, the Boy Chin Wonder, and he had work to do.

He made it to his dorm room, swiping his school ID in the reader and opening the door. While he had been expecting to see his roommates, he hadn't expected to see each of his seven classmates waiting in the living room.

"Timmy!" they all greeted, surprising the red-capped boy. His girlfriend Wonder Gal walked over to him and kissed him on the cheek, causing him to smile and their classmate, Femme Fatale, to scowl. Matter Muncher Lad was sitting on a couch, shoveling handfuls of popcorn into his mouth. Next to him was Fatale, then Ice Princess, who was applying makeup with a compact. Floating next to the couch was Professor AJ, playing around with a mini-computer. Sitting on the floor was the Sonic Youth and Sparky, who had been previously having a conversation.

"Hey guys," the buck toothed boy said, dragging his luggage through the door. "Not that I'm not happy to see you, but what are you guys all doing here?"

"We thought it'd be best to have a meeting now," Chester said between mouthfuls. "It's about what the Nega-Chin said before he died in May."

Suddenly Cleft's attitude became serious. "You mean about there being…others?"

"Yeah. We all spent the summer looking up who the biggest, baddest villains were," Sparky said.

"And what'd you find out?" Cleft asked.

"Nothing," said everyone.

"Nothing?" Cleft echoed.

"We each looked as well as we could into the history of supervillains," Sanjay explained.

"Yeah, but everything said that the Nega-Chin is the most powerful villain ever," Fatale continued.

"What? That can't be right," their leader mused. "Maybe he meant someone in the Negaverse."

"Maybe we should ask Cosmo and Wanda," Wonder Gal suggested.

Cleft shrugged. "Sorry guys, I haven't seen those two since we defeated the Nega-Chin, and I have no clue how to reach them. Maybe…"

Suddenly, a shrill alarm rang through the dorm. "Attention, students," Super Principle's voice rang out over the load speaker. "Several unidentified crafts have been spotted heading toward Earth. Report to the bunkers immediately."

"What?" the students cried.

"Figures," AJ said, floating toward the door. "Classes haven't even started yet and the villain attacks commence. It's already shaping up to be another fun year."

* * *

Mark lay uncomfortably on the large bed in his cabin. Actually, _his _cabin wasn't entirely accurate. For his father insisted he share his with the warrior in his arm tentacles.

"Oh Mark, isn't it wonderful?" Mandie mused, brushing the prince's cheek. "In just a month, we'll be married, and the mighty Bodacians and the Yugopotamians will become one!"

"Yeah," Mark said slowly. "Excellent."

"And with all the others participating in our alliance, universal domination will follow. We'll rule entire galaxies as emperor and empress."

"Rock on," Mark said, without enthusiasm.

To Mark's great relief, a knock sounded from the door. Mandie, however, was not pleased. Almost instantly she shot up, her hair turning to flames. "I thought I made it clear we were not to be disturbed!" she roared.

"M-my apologies, your highness," a Yugopotamian guard said from the other side of the door. "But we've arrived within striking distance of Earth. We will commence on Prince Mark's orders."

"Excellent," Mark said, gratefully jumping from his fiancée's grip. "Let us commence our, like, totally excellent invasion of this little mudball, and see if our contact on Earth came through."

* * *

The Crimson Chin, Super Principle, and Catman walked into the main control room of Skyway Patrol. Since this was an alien invasion, the international agency was the one with jurisdiction.

"About time you got here," a voice sounded from the front. It came from the General, standing in front of a large monitor. He was short, only about half the size of the average adult. His gray and black Skyway Patrol uniform was decorated with various metals, and in place of the usual bullet helmet he was wearing a gray military hat that covered his eyes, making his mouth and large bulbous nose the only facial feature visible.

"We got here as soon as possible," Catman apologized. "We had to make sure our students were safe."

"What's the situation?" the Chin asked.

"An armada of alien ships, from a race we haven't been in contact with," the General explained as his monitor showed an image of Mark's ship. "Numbers are estimated to be in the hundreds."

"What else do we know?" the Chin asked.

"I'm afraid that's all we know," the General said. "Any ideas?"

"We'll put as many heroes with the ability to fly as we can on the front lines," Super Principle suggested. "Once we figure out their attacks, your men can stand a better chance of taking them out. Less risk of loss of life."

"So the usual contingency plan, eh?" the General said. "Well…"

"That would probably be the most efficient method," a new voice joined the conversation as its owner walked up to them.

The man was strange by human standards. He was tall, nearly six feet, but that was his only noticeable physical feature. He wore a long white lab coat, coming down to his boots and going up past his neck, its collar covering his mouth. He wore black boots and gloves, meaning his clothes covered nearly all skin up to his nose. His eyes were masked by a pair of thick goggles. His hair was a single pile that lifted from his head and then fell back in a lightning bolt shape.

"This is Professor Membrane," the General introduced, "the new head of our science department."

"How do you do?" the scientist said rather curtly before turning back to the General. "The ships will break through our atmosphere soon. We need soldiers on the front lines now."

"We'll head out immediately," the Chin promised. "In fact, every hero that could be reached should already be in position."

* * *

As Mark looked at the screen at his bridge, he smiled. "We are, like, totally in range. Commence with the bombardment!"

* * *

The bunkers looked just as bland as ever as the eight heroes-in-training sat around waiting for something to happen.

"Oh, this is really how I wanted to start the school year," AJ moaned, "huddled in here while the adults get to trash some aliens. What, didn't we prove we're strong enough last year?"

"I don't know about you guys," Sparky said, "but after everything that happened last year, I could use some time off." With that, he flopped down on the ground.

"We should be concentrating on what the Nega-Chin said anyway," Cleft muttered.

"There's not much we can do about it right now," his girlfriend injected. "Heck, we don't even know where to start."

"With Crocktopus," Cleft answered, earning stares from his classmates.

Muncher Lad was the one who voiced this puzzlement. "What are you talking about?"

"Someone had to have taken over for the Nega-Chin, right? Otherwise there would have been a major war over his organization. Plus Crocktopus seemed friendly with him, so he's got to know who the more powerful ones are. If the Nega-Chin told anyone, it would be him!"

Instantly the group beamed. "Timmy, that's brilliant!" Wonder Gal declared.

"Most ingenious," Sonic agreed.

"Hate to be Johnny Stormcloud," AJ cut in, "but how, exactly are we going to get information from Crocktopus? He's not exactly an open book."

"Well, for starters, we have to…"

A loud rumble cut the red-capped hero off. "W-what's going on?" he demanded as the room began to shake.

"Brace yourselves!" Fatale screeched as she searched for stability. The rest of the class obeyed as the room began to violently quake, tossing its contents everywhere. By some miracle nothing struck the heroes, who had somehow managed to brace themselves. The shaking continued until a loud ripping sound was heard.

Then, something even stranger happened. The rumbling stopped, but the shaking continued. Though now it was nowhere near as frantic. In fact, it seemed rather gentle…like a rocking boat.

"What on Earth?" Cleft muttered. At the same time he came to that conclusion, the room did its next unusual thing. It simply stopped, with the sudden jerk causing half the class to lose the stability they had. Among those was Cleft, who fell on the bunker floor on his back.

The de facto leader stood quickly, reading his staff in case their next obstacle would be a tangible one. "Is everyone okay?" he asked, scanning the room.

Muncher Lad rose to his feet among all the wreckage, rubbing his hooded head to try and soothe the pain he had received when it came into contact with the wall. "Define okay."

Before anything else could be said, a new sound entered the student's ears. It sounded like a drilling sound. Adding to the confusion was when a very small amount of debris landed in Wonder Gal's hair. Puzzled, the super strong heroine brushed the rubble out her hair and looked up. A stream of small rocks was falling from the ceiling that didn't stop.

Until a drill broke through.

The class stared at it for half a second before AJ realized that now would be a good time to put up a mental shield.

Unfortunately, he came to this conclusion half a second too late. At that moment, the drill split open in quarters, revealing a small antenna.

From that, a huge surge of electricity came forth, surging through the eight occupants of the bunker. It looked like black lightning, but whatever it was was affecting Sparky as severely as his classmates, meaning it couldn't be electricity.

Finally, after a few seconds, the surge stopped, and the heroes-in-training fell to the ground.

As they slipped into unconsciousness, a loud bang was heard from the door. With another bang, the door flew off its hinges. As it landed on the floor, two large gray Yugopotamians slithered into the room, each holding large axes in one of their arm tentacles.

"Ah, the first capture of the planet of Earth. I have no clue why that Irken wants the younglings, but it must be good."


	2. Invaded I: POW

A/N: Well, here's chapter 2. On with the show.

Disclaimer: Fairly Oddparents copyright Billionfold, Butch Hartman, and Nickelodeon. Superhero trademark DC and Marvel Comics.

* * *

When the first thing you wake up to is a throbbing pain in your head, common sense tells you that the situation you're in probably isn't a good one. If the second thing is the feeling of a cold, hard surface that you were previously sleeping on, that only strengthens the possibility.

Cleft realized that as his eyes opened to a blurry world. With a groan escaping his lips, he rubbed his head, trying to ease the throbbing. When he did, however, he noticed something rather alarming.

"My mask!" he exclaimed, feeling his bare face. Panicking, he began checking himself over and soon realized that he was missing his hat, cape, staff, and utility cleft. "My stuff!" he yelled. Then, he began to take in his surroundings.

The room was dark, though not so dark he had trouble seeing, though there were some areas that were so darkened he couldn't see. The main source of light was a series of bars that ran down the long side of the rectangular room that glowed a sickly green.

They weren't in a room; they were in a cell. A very high tech cell, by the looks of it. The walls and floor were made out of cold, hard gray metal, and the bars were made of energy, or at least seemed to be. The only other thing in the dull room was a door on the other side of the bars.

After taking in the sights, suddenly a more pressing issue crept into his mind. This one provided a more immediate answer. He simply turned around and found them.

However, they were not much better off. They too had been stripped of their masks, capes, and paraphernalia.

"Guys!" he shouted. He rushed to his girlfriend's side, who was laying on her stomach, and shook her shoulder. "Trixie…"

The Asian girl stirred awake. Propping herself up, she rubbed her head, apparently feeling the same throbbing pain he was feeling, though his had receded a bit. However, the pain was pushed out when she realized how alarming the situation. "Where's my tiara? And my lasso?"

"Probably with my stuff," her leader commented as he helped her up. Meanwhile, the other six heroes-in-training were returning to consciousness, feeling the same pain in their heads that they had felt.

"Like, my head feels like a thousand jackhammers," Princess moaned.

"Yeah, well you're lucky," AJ muttered. "Try a headache when you have an oversized…my chair!" The boy genius cried as he realized his only means of conveyance was now missing. "What happened to my chair?"

"You're not the only one," Cleft said sullenly. "We've all be cleaned out. Whoever caught us cleaned us out."

"Who cleaned us out? The aliens?" Sparky asked.

"That would be the logical conclusion," AJ rolled his eyes. Then he looked at the bars that held them inside. "Hey, whoever's out there, show yourself!" he shouted. "Have the guts to face us!"

"You're wasting your breath," a new voice muttered.

A bit startled by the presence of an unknown voice, the eight students turned to the source. It was in a corner of the cell, one so dark that you couldn't make out shapes. But in this corner something turned, and suddenly two circles of light appeared, peering out at them. After a moment, their leader realized that they were eyeglass lenses with the light of the energy bars reflecting off of them. "They feel it's beneath them to answer the requests of humans, even superpowered ones."

"Who are you?" Muncher Lad demanded.

In response, the figure stepped out of the shadows. It was a human, a boy about eleven. His head was big, massive by some standards, with oversized glasses over his amber-colored eyes. His hair was piled up in a strange scythe shape that stood up from his head. He wore a blue shirt with a pale blue face in the design of the ever-famous smiley face, although the face seemed bored and apathetic rather than happy. Over the shirt was a black trench coat with matching black pants and boots, giving him a gothic look.

"My name's Dib Membrane."

AJ's eyes lit up. "Dib Membrane? Any relation to Professor Membrane?"

The newcomer arched an eyebrow. "He's my dad. Why?"

"Are you kidding? The genius who discovered the perpetual energy source? Without him, our academy would be grounded. He's my hero!" the boy genius gushed.

"The son of a famous scientist. That must be why the aliens snatched you," Sonic deduced, rubbing his chin.

"Something like that," Dib waved it off. "In any case, I have something more important to worry about."

"What are you talking about?" Muncher Lad asked, puzzled. "You're a prisoner in an alien spaceship, or at least, I'm pretty sure it's a spaceship…"

"It is," Dib said curtly. "And before you ask what could be worst, I'll tell you. My sister is missing."

It was Cleft who asked the obvious question. "Was she caught by these aliens too?"

"Glad to see they apparently teach detective skills at that Academy," the boy answered with a sarcastic tone. "Yeah. Me and my sister Gaz were abducted about a week ago…"

"Wait," Fatale interrupted, "these guys only showed up earlier today! Or were we out longer than we thought?"

Dib shook his head. "You've only been out a few hours as far as I know. But these guys have had scouts here for months. I accidentally found out about two weeks ago. A few days later they abducted me and my sister. The next day Gaz was taken from the cell we were in. Then, yesterday, they took me from their ground base and put me in here."

"So who are these guys?" Cleft asked.

"Well…" their newfound ally began. At that point, however, something cut him off. Some soft beeps were heard from the unreachable door, causing everyone to turn their gave to its directions. The door slid up, allowing three new figures to enter.

The first two were large, gray Yugopotamian guards, who slithered in and stood on either side of the door, holding their oversized axes in their arm tentacles. Then, once they were stationed, the third came through the door.

"So, the puny humans have, like, totally awoken," Mark said with a sneer.

"Let me guess, you're the leader, right?" Wonder Gal said.

Mark gave a grin, throwing up his arms. "Yes, it is I, Mark Chang, prince of Yugopotamia! And you are the first prisoners we have taken as part of our glorious conquest of the planet Earth!"

"Wait a minute," Dib said, with a confused look on his face. He slowly walked toward the bars. "You're not like the alien that grabbed me. He was an Irken."

"Ah yes, you are referring to Zim," the prince noted, rubbing what could pass as his chin. "You see, Yugopotamia is but one part of the mighty Vooras Alliance!"

"Vooras? What does that mean?" Sparky asked.

Rather than answer his question, Mark continued to rant. "You see, the greatest military races from all across the universe have banded together for the common goal: to purify the universe! We will enslave and eliminate all the lesser races and create a glorious utopia for the mighty!"

"…I know this is going to sound cliché, but…you're insane," AJ said.

"Whatever," Mark said as he shrugged what could have been his shoulders. "All I know is that my Irken ally was insistent that the eight of you puny super humans be captured. He said that you actually managed to beat the most powerful human he found on this miserable planet."

"Most powerful human?" Fatale wondered.

"Hey, yeah," Dib said suddenly, turning to the group. "You were the eight that defeated the Nega-Chin a few months ago, weren't you?"

"Yeah, we were," Cleft said. Realization crossed his features as he turned to Mark. "That's why you abducted us, isn't it? You saw us as a threat!"

The Yugopotamian scoffed. "I do not, buy Zim seems to think you are. I do not think it was worth ripping your little hiding place out of the ground and onto our ship. But whatever, you are here, and you will spend the rest of your life serving greater beings. Any questions?"

"No," Wonder Gal said with a scowl on her face and hands on her hips. "I have a gesture, but it's improper for a lady of my caliber."

"Harsh," the prince replied with an amused grin. "I would be a bit more respectful if I were in your position," he said, sliding over to one of the guards. He grabbed what appeared to be a thin remote that was attached to the stone faced soldier's belt. It was thin and black with three rectangular buttons, one red, one blue, and one yellow. "You see, we have ways of dealing with unruly prisoners." With that, he pressed the red button.

At that moment, the cell was filled with the same strange lightning that had knocked the heroes out earlier. For a few seconds the nine captives screamed in pain. Suddenly it stopped, and they fell to their knees.

Mark grinned a sinister grin. "You are trapped. Every guard carries a card like this one. It can open doors and act as an identification, but my favorite feature is their ability to electrify our prison cells." He slithered up to the bars. "Now, what is the human expression? Oh yes, make yourselves at home. We traveled a million million miles from our home planet to here, and we are not going to allow the fruits of our labors to escape. Now, this is your final chance to ask questions."

"I have one," Muncher Lad said. "If you're from a planet that's so far away, why is it you speak perfect English?"

"That needs no explanation," Mark dismissed.

"What are you talking about? That seems like a pretty big improbability."

"Do I have to do the lightning thing again?" Mark said with his tentacle on the remote.

Muncher Lad's eyes widened. "I'll be good."

"I thought so. Well, I have to oversee the rest of the invasion. Later!" With that he slithered out, the two guards following behind him.

There was a moment of silence. "What are the Irkens like?" Fatale asked Dib.

"Huh?" the boy asked.

"You said something called an Irken grabbed you. What are they like? And how'd you know they were called that?" she clarified, arching her eyebrow.

"Oh, well, they're kind of like bugs," he said quickly. "And, um…apparently, all aliens like to talk. Zim kept bragging about how great he and the 'mighty Irken army' are."

"You know, instead of just talking, we should be finding a way out of here," AJ commented dryly, finally pushing himself up into a sitting position.

"Great," Princess said, rolling her eyes. "So what do you suggest, melonhead?"

To everyone's surprise, the boy genius smirked. "How about taking advantage of the fact that that oversized squid was dumb enough to tell us how the cell opened? Or the fact that I could levitate one off of one of those guards?"

Realization crossing their features, the other eight prisoners turned to the bars where, much to their surprise and delight, a black remote was levitating.

In a flash Cleft had the remote in his hand. "AJ, that was brilliant!"

"Naturally," the scientist said smugly.

"Now, which of these buttons opens this thing?" Cleft wondered, scratching his head.

"It's the yellow button," Dib said instantly.

Without double-checking the source, the default leader pushed the button. Sure enough, the energy bars dissolved. "Awesome."

"Hey, how'd you know that?" Fatale asked suspiciously.

The newcomer shifted nervously. "Oh, uh, I saw Zim use the same device when he threw me in here."

"Hello, could someone give me a hand?" AJ called dryly. "I can't move that good without my chair."

In response, Wonder Gal walked over to her classmate and picked him up effortlessly, carrying him bridal style. The genius blushed a little, obviously embarrassed by the situation.

"So now what?" Wonder Gal asked.

"Now we find our stuff," Cleft said. "But we don't know where to start," he admitted with a shrug.

"Not true," AJ said. "I'm mentally linked to my chair. I can sense where it is."

"Wow. Writer's convenience comes through again," Muncher Lad muttered.

"We better get moving," Cleft noted. He turned to Dib. "Think you can be stealthy?"

"I get by," he muttered. "Let's move."


	3. Invaded I: SEN

A/N: Chaper three, blah, blah, blah.

Disclaimer: Fairly Oddparents copyright Butch Hartman and Nickelodeon. Invader Zim copyright Johnen Vasquez and Nickelodeon. Superhero trademark DC and Marvel.

* * *

Their enemies before had captured five of the eight heroes-in-training, long ago during their first encounter with Gary, when he had transported them to the Nega-Chin's base. During that time their escape had been direct, with the only stealth involved being on Muncher Lad's part. Now, however, they had to sneak around until they found their weapons, and they found themselves incredibly nervous. It really shook the nerves to know that they had to avoid being found, since two of them were not at full potential, and they had an extra person who, as far as they knew, had no combat experience.

That made it all the more confusing that Dib seemed completely collected in what he was doing. He peered around a corner down a long hallway. Two Yugopotamian guards were slithering around a corner and out of sight. Once the coast was clear, the newcomer motioned for the heroes to follow him. While a bit put off by how professionally the boy was conducting himself, they followed him anyway.

The nine children were halfway down the hallway when they heard voices.

"I got penitentiary duty once we get back to Yugopotamia," a voice said.

"Tough break. Did you tick off the Bodacian princess?" another asked.

"Yeah. I mean, I thought the Irkens had a temper, but man…" As the voice replied, the shadows of two more Yugopotamians appeared on the wall at the end of the hallway.

"Guards!" Cleft said in an alarmed whisper.

"Great, there's nowhere to hide!" AJ began to panic, his nervousness only doubled by the fact that he couldn't move on his own.

"Relax, look," Dib said, pointing to a small grill above them. "That's an air duct. We can sneak through them until we find our stuff."

"That sounds reasonable," Sonic said. Without waiting for confirmation, the Indian hero flew up to the duct and pulled it open.

"Wait a minute, that won't work," AJ began to point out. "Contrary to popular belief, air ducts make for poor methods of stealth. I mean, all the banging around you'd make trying to move would-yipes!" The boy genius's cry of surprise was due to the fact that Wonder Gal tossed him up toward Sonic, who caught him and shoved him into their new ally's hiding place.

"Relax, it's an advanced duct. They've made it completely soundproof," Dib assured as Sonic picked him up and flew him up to their sanctuary. Within a matter of seconds, they were all inside, with Sonic closing the vent just before the two guards turned the corner.

After recollecting his bearings, AJ continued his directions. "Alright, keep going down this way, then turn right." The rest wordlessly followed his instructions, for the most part. In the back, Fatale whispered to Muncher Lad.

"Doesn't this seem a little suspicious to you?" she asked.

"What do you mean?" her hooded teammate asked.

"I mean, this guy is a civilian trapped on an alien ship, but he's treating it like a routine mission," the clawed girl pointed out. Muncher Lad nodded. Dib was taking this whole thing rather well.

"You think he's up to something?" the gluttonous hero whispered back as they rounded the corner.

"I think we should keep an eye on him. Remember the last time we trusted someone we didn't know? Gary nearly got us killed."

The boy sighed, but nodded. He really hoped it didn't come to that.

* * *

Knowing that you're doomed is not a pleasant feeling, as one Yugopotamian guard was realizing at that point. After his prince had left him and his companion to attend to the invasion, he noticed his remote was missing. Desperately retracing his steps, he went back to the cell that previously half nine prisoners-of-war, and it was empty.

It didn't take a genius to figure out what had happened.

"Sound the alarm!" he ordered his companion. The other guard responded by lifting up his own remote and pressing a button.

Instantly a loud, shrill alarm rang through the ship, and other noises confirmed that the entire ship was now on alert.

The guard that sounded the alarm noted his companion's somber expression. "We could just act surprised, like we had no idea what happened," he suggested.

"No, they'd find out eventually that I lost my remote. I'll admit my mistake and take full responsibility to Prince Mark and Princess Mandie."

The other guard shook what passed as a head. His friend was doomed.

* * *

The shrill alarm caused the stealth-using heroes to practically jump. "They must have noticed we've escaped!" Princess shrieked.

"Brilliant deduction," AJ rolled his eyes. "But actually, maybe not. It could be worse."

"How could it possibly be worse?" Sparky asked incredulously.

"Well, it could mean that the ship is under attack by Skyway Patrol or the heroes, and since they probably haven't realized we've been abducted yet, they'll blow the ship apart with us in it."

There was a silence.

"Let's hurry up and find our stuff," Cleft suggested. The others readily agreed.

"Relax, we're right above my chair now," AJ said, looking through a grill in the duct. Indeed, he could see his chair, as well as his friends' belongings, below.

"Can you see any guards?" Cleft yelled over the alarm.

"I don't think so," the boy genius answered.

"Good. Trixie, you know what to do," the leader said, figuring it was pointless to conceal their real names to a kid who had seen them unmasked.

The super-strong heroine nodded, then grabbed the grill, ripping it off as effortlessly as most kids open a can of soda. Placing the former cover to the side, he jumped down, AJ still in her arms. She looked around for a moment. The room was pale, just the metal walls, a few steel crates, and their things. She gently placed her teammate in his chair before searching for her tiara, lasso, wristbands and earrings.

Meanwhile, the others jumped down as well, each looking for their stolen masks and weapons. Cleft tucked away his staff and strapped on his utility cleft while his companions replaced their capes and masks.

However, there was one that they weren't expecting to find stolen property.

"All right, it's here," Dib said, picking up something of his own. As he began to put it on, the others stood in shock.

Whatever it was, it was mechanical, sleek and deadly looking. After a few seconds, Cleft realized that it was a pair of steel gloves, with the fingers filed into claws. They reached up past his elbow and stopped at his armpits. Completing this ensemble was an ear piece that held a small computer screen in front of his left eye.

"Dib…what is that?" Princess couldn't help but ask.

"Oh, well…" he began, but something cut him off.

More specifically, it was AJ, who at that moment used his powers to push the boy in black into the wall.

"Hey, what are you doing?" Cleft demanded.

"Look what's written on his gloves," the genius said bluntly, not stopping his concentration. The others obeyed this command, and saw three letters written in dark purple: S.E.N.

"SEN? What is this?" Sonic pondered, putting a hand on his chin.

"The Swollen Eyeball Network," AJ answered with anger. "A splinter cell of the government; they're nothing but a bunch of traitors!"

* * *

Several Yugopotamians in the cockpit smelled burnt flesh. Normally this would be soothing to the warrior race, but not in this case. What was left of their companion was sliding down the wall, leaving a faint trail of toasted innards.

"Apology accepted, soldier," Mandie said coldly, still clutching her flaming sword angrily.

Mark, standing next to her, looked horrified. "That was harsh, babe. Couldn't we have given him a dishonorable discharge instead?"

"Mark, dear, you need to learn to be tougher. We need to make it clear that mistakes like this are not to be tolerated. Now come on," she ordered, grabbing her fiancée's arm tentacle and pulling him toward the halls.

"Where are we going?" the prince asked, a little worried.

"We're going to handle this ourselves," she said menacingly.

* * *

There was a pause among the group as AJ's accusation sunk in. Finally, Cleft spoke. "What's SEN, exactly?"

"A group of traitors," AJ spat, not taking his eyes off the immobilized Dib. "They betrayed the Guys in White and Skyway Patrol years ago and began helping their enemies. I'll bet he's involved with the Yugopotamians somehow!"

"Brilliant deduction, genius," Dib snarked. "Then why was I in a jail cell? And why did I help you guys escape when they clearly had you?"

"I don't know, but you're up to something," the boy genius asserted.

"Hold on a minute, AJ," Cleft said. He turned to the pinned boy. "Well, what do you have to say?"

"Yeah, I'm a member of SEN, the youngest ever," he admitted without pause. "And yes, we do go against the government, but you don't know the full story behind it."

"Don't listen to him!" AJ yelled. "These guys helped some hostile aliens escape from a Skyway Patrol base five years ago!"

"Quiet AJ," Cleft snapped. "Continue," he said to Dib.

"We did help aliens escape, but it was Skyway Patrol that was hostile. The visitors came as peaceful emissaries, but they were more concerned with getting their hands on some of their technology. When they refused to hand it over, they turned violent. They held the group in their base and performed painful experiments while they began applying their technology for military purposes.

"A group of them, however, were disgusted with the way they were acting. At that moment, they formed the Swollen Eyeball Network. They dedicated themselves to reversing the policies that Skyway Patrol and, later, the Guys in White. The first thing they did was help those poor aliens escape. Unfortunately, their existence was discovered in the process. The ones in charge lied to their superiors, saying the aliens were hostile. Like it or not, we're the good guys."

"A likely story," AJ scoffed.

Sonic, however, was a bit more reasonable. "Well, that explains Skyway Patrol, but what about the Guys in White?"

"Don't tell me that you haven't realized that they're prejudiced against superheroes," he said bluntly. "All of you should realize that better than anyone."

"He's right!" Muncher Lad exclaimed. "Remember a few months ago when we stopped the Nega Chin? We were the bad guys for being too powerful!"

"See? And they're not just going to talk about it for long. They're just waiting for the opportunity to push a lot of legislation against you. We're fighting against that. We're on your side."

"I don't believe it," AJ said bluntly, discreetly looking at his secret girlfriend for support.

"I agree with AJ," Princess spoke up, a bit weakly. In truth, she wasn't sure, but she decided to side with her boyfriend.

"I'm going to have to side with Veronica on this one," Fatale admitted.

"Well, I believe him," Wonder Gal spoke. There was agreement from Sonic, Muncher Lad, and Sparky.

"So do I," Cleft said. "AJ, release him."

"Come on, Timmy, you can't be serious," the boy genius said.

"Yes I am. Let him go," the boy chin wonder said bluntly.

"No way, I can't do that," AJ said defiantly.

Suddenly Cleft was in front of him, mere inches from his face. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but weren't you just as willing to make me leader last year?" he said, coldly and sternly. "You chose me as much as anyone else. I'm usually not very fond of shouting orders, but this is one. Let him go."

AJ, as well as the rest of the class, was a bit surprised at how assertive, and intimidating, their de facto leader was acting. Perhaps that's why the boy genius lost his grip, allowing Dib to land gracefully on his feet.

Cleft nodded, placing his hand on his hips. "Now then, we should find a way out of here before…"

As if on cue, the door then opened, and two Yugopotamian guards slithered in.

"Hey!" one of them shouted when they realized they were in there. Quickly the nine heroes got into battle stances, but it made no difference. One of the guards pointed his remote at the escapees and pressed a button. Instantly, they were basked in a blue light that engulfed them.

* * *

When the light subsided, they were no longer in the same room.

They were in an arena.

A large arena with stands filled with Yugopotamian soldiers jeering at them. The arena was steel, like everything else on the ship. The ceiling was a steel dome, with no view of the dark space outside.

And, floating above the arena on a metal disk, was a gray Yugopotamian guard.

"Loyal soldiers of the Vooras Alliance, we are proud to present tonight entertainment for our soldiers. In this corner, nine pitiful Earthling youths!"

A wave of boos greeted the introduction, causing them to stand indignitly.

"And in this corner, our beloved leader and his fiancée, fighting for our glory, Prince Mark, and Princess Mandie!"

At that point, the heroes finally noticed said rulers standing across the arena. Mandie had her flaming sword drawn, while Mark was holding what appeared to be a large gun. It was rectangular, with nine barrels arranged on its front. He was holding it like a rocket launcher, with it being propped up on what would pass as a shoulder.

Mandie grinned, showing off her sharp teeth. "You are going to regret crawling out of the hole you came from, you little worms."


	4. Invaded I: Death Combat

A/N: Chapter 4, first fight scene, and the people rejoice.

Disclaimer: Fairly Oddparents copyright Butch Hartman and Nickelodeon. Invader Zim copyright Johnen Vasquez and Nickelodeon. Superhero trademark DC and Marvel.

* * *

Being backed into a corner by axe-crazy villains was not a new experience to the heroes-in-training and, judging by Dib's reaction, their new friend wasn't a stranger to it either. However, Mandie and Mark were fully expecting the nine youths to cower when they charged, or at least scatter in several different directions.

Which is why they were surprised when they charged forward as well, ready for battle.

In the previous year, the team, despite the various falling-outs and quarrels they might have had between them, were very synced up in terms of combat. Without a word the heroes split into two groups, with four taking on one of the alien rulers. Cleft, Fatale, Wonder Gal and Sonic, accompanied by Dib, engaged Mandie, while AJ, Muncher Lad, Princess, and Sparky took on the Yugopotamian prince.

Dib ran forward, sparks erupting from the tips of the gloves' fingers. They were met by the Bodacian princess's flaming sword, though the flames seemed to do nothing to harm the SEN operative's weapon.

Hoping to take advantage of Mandie's focus on Dib, Cleft swung his staff at her legs, hoping to knock her off balance. But to his great surprise she leapt straight into the air. As she came down she violently kicked him in the face, sending him back.

As physically impossible as it might seem, she did all this while still pushing back Dib's attack. After taking care of Cleft, she used her free hand to suddenly and unexpectedly grabbed the spectacled boy by the shirt. She then spun and threw him, sending him across the arena.

Almost immediately, Fatale dove in with two swipes of her claws; however, the sword blocked both. The clawed girl swung a third time, which was blocked, but the fourth caught the warrior princess off guard when it struck not her weapon, but her hand. She screamed, more in surprise than pain, and dropped her high-tech blade, which hit the floor with a clang. Before Fatale could take advantage of this, however, Mandie punched her in the face, sending her tumbling back.

The princess reached for her sword, but another opponent met her. Wonder Gal leapt in and punched her in the face hard enough to send her back a few steps. She then kicked the sword away, ensuring that the confrontation would be barehanded.

Mandie, looking enraged at the turn of events, threw a punch that the younger warrior dodged. Wonder Gal tried to follow it up with a kick, but the alien caught it in her palm. Giving a sinister grin, she pushed the foot upward, hoping to knock the child on her back. But her opponent was no stranger to this tactic and responded with a back flip, causing her to land gracefully on her feet. Immediately she jumped forward with a punch, which Mandie failed to block, having not expected Wonder Gal to be able to perform that flip. The attack connected with her stomach, pushing her back.

Despite this, Wonder Gal's victory was only temporary. This is because she made one big mistake. She assumed the attack would knock the wind out of the larger woman, leaving her breathless for a few moments. She forgot that her opponent, while looking very human in shape, was not human at all. Therefore, she was unprepared when Mandie slammed her elbow down on her head. The girl fell to the ground, stunned.

Quickly scanning the floor, Mandie saw her sword on the floor and began to rush toward it, but Sonic landed on top of it and let out the loudest sonic scream he could muster. The sheer force of the sound waves was enough to knock her back a few steps before regaining her footing. She began walking against the attack, but before she could get to her attacker, Dib leapt up to her and punched her in the side with his sparking gloves, knocking her down.

She was quick to recover, but Dib was quick to act. He threw another punch, but Mandie caught it in her palm. She then threw her own punch, which Dib blocked with his forearm. Then, much to her surprise, he used her momentum to flip her over him, causing her to hit the floor. With her down, he tried to punch her again, but the princess performed a surprise sweep kick, knocking him to the ground.

Unfortunately, Mandie was on her feet before Dib. She brought her leg up and brought it down on the boy's head. He felt a brief burst of pain before blacking out.

While this was going on Sonic grabbed the sword and flew to the top of the arena, embedding it in the roof, a place where he hoped Mandie couldn't reach it.

Back on the floor Mandie loomed over her fallen adversary, preparing to make sure he never woke up. Unfortunately for her, she was struck from the side by two chin-a-rangs. On a human they would have broken bones, but here it did little more than cut her skin.

Angry, Mandie turned to the source of the attack to see Cleft coming at her, swinging his staff. Unfortunately she proved ready when she caught the weapon with her hand. Then, she pulled the weapon up, almost lifting the de facto leader into the air, but he was smart enough to let go.

Mandie then swung the staff straight down to the brown-haired boy's head. Cleft dodged just in time, letting the staff leave a small rivet in the floor. The princess continued to swing the staff violently, with the red capped hero barely dodging each time. This continued until Sonic flew behind him and lifted him up out of her reach.

"Why not just hand her a laser cannon?" Sonic said sarcastically.

If Mandie could reach the pair she never got the chance, because at that moment Fatale and Wonder Gal came charging in. The princess swung the staff, but Wonder Gal caught it with her palm, though it was swung so hard that it pushed her to the side. While Mandie was distracted, Fatale slashed her in the arm, causing her to release the staff. The other heroine quickly threw it behind her, allowing it to roll away. Seeing this, Sonic released Cleft, who fell and reclaimed his weapon.

Fatale and Wonder Gal continued their two way attack. As skilled as she was in combat it was proving difficult to defend against two opponents at one. Finally she preformed a large jump, unexpectedly leaping over her opponents to land behind them. She then performed a kick that struck Wonder Gal in the head sent her crashing into Fatale, causing them both to fall to the floor.

At that point Cleft was performing a jump kick at her, but the Bodacian ruler grabbed him by the ankle and slammed him onto the floor.

"Sorry, Earthling, I may be outnumbered, but I'm never outclassed." With that she lifted her leg, ready to smash his head under her heel.

* * *

While half the class was battling Mandie, the other half was battling her fiancé Mark, who was proving to be a formidable opponent himself. For his opening attac,k he fired his launcher, spewing out nine miniature rockets at his group of opponents. But AJ was quick with a mental shield, causing the projectiles to explode on contact. Princess then fired an ice blast, which encased the weapon in ice while Sparky threw a blast of lightning that struck the alien in the chest, causing him to drop his weapon.

Following this Muncher Lad ran for the iced weapon, intending to put distance between it and Mark (attempting to eat it would have been foolish, even for the gluttonous hero, because the untold amount of explosive in it would have blasted him to bits) but Mark recovered quicker than expected. The Yugopotamian prince wrapped a tentacle around his neck when he was just inches from the gun. He probably would have strangled him to the point of asphyxiation had he not seen Sparky and Princess coming up to him. Giving a sinister grin Mark threw his captive at Sparky, causing them to fall to the ground. Princess fired three icicles at him, but he dodged, grabbed his gun, and swung it like a club. It connected with the towheaded heroine's head, causing the ice to shatter around it and Princess to fall to the floor, either stunned or unconscious.

Mark pointed his gun at AJ and fired, the weapon working amazingly well for an item that had been frozen solid moments earlier. Nine more rockets erupted from the barrel and flew toward the boy genius. He blocked again with a mental shield, but it was obvious his brain was feeling strained. He decided to go on the offensive and fired a mental blast, which Mark dodged by bending to one side. He then fired his gun again. There wasn't enough time for a shield this time, but AJ managed to dodge by floating upward. The missiles flew below him, but fortunately they seemed to be timed to explode before they flew into the crowd.

Mark pressed the trigger again, but the only thing to come out was an audible click.

"He's out of ammo already!" Sparky exclaimed happily.

"That should make things easier," Princess grinned.

However, Mark's smile just got bigger. He pressed a button on his gun, and the barrel fell off…revealing a circular one underneath. He pulled the trigger, and suddenly a rain of smaller bullets was flying at the heroes-in-training.

Suddenly the battle was in Mark's favor again, as the heroes ran to dodge the gunfire. The prince singled out Sparky, following him around the arena. Seeing this, Princess came up on the side and began firing icicles in rapid bursts, hoping to hit him when he was distracted, or at least take his attention off Sparky. Unfortunately not only did Mark see the attack coming, but with his free arm tentacle he pulled out a smaller gun from who-knows-where and fired it. One bullet per icicle was fired, with each one making its mark, shattering the projectiles. He then began firing it at Princess, all while keeping his main focus on Sparky. Of course the remain shots weren't well-aimed now that he was focusing most of his efforts on the living generator, but it was enough to make the blonde heroine dive for cover.

The attacks on both fronts stopped when something grazed the tentacle holding the smaller gun, surprising Mark and causing him to drop it. He turned to see Muncher Lad, his mouth full and ready to attack. It seemed the rockets he fired had a side effect of creating shrapnel for him to use as ammo. He fired his makeshift projectiles at the prince, many of which hit their mark and caused the alien to yell in pain. Finally, he turned the gun toward the hooded hero and firing his advanced machine gun. Muncher Lad was sent running, but not for long, as Princess, Sparky, and AJ each fired attacks of their own. He bent out of the way of all three with amazing dexterity.

They probably could have defeated Mark as they were had it not been for a mistake on Princess's part. She decided to get close to the Yugopotamian prince to try and freeze him solid. However, her hopes that Mark wouldn't see her coming were unfounded. When she jumped at him, she grabbed him with his empty arm tentacle. Guessing that she'd try to freeze him, he immediately flung her across the room and into Sparky. The pair fell to the ground.

Immediately Mark slid forward straight toward Muncher Lad at great speed, firing his gun. The gluttonous hero dodged, but did nothing to stop Mark's advance. AJ tried putting a mental barrier between the two, but the prince anticipated this and immediately started firing blasts at the boy genius, causing him to drop the barrier to protect himself. Unfortunately, this left Muncher Lad unprepared when Mark reached him. The prince wrapped his free tentacle around his stomach and squeezed hard.

Unfortunately, Muncher Lad mouth was still full when Mark grabbed him. He felt like he would vomit as he coughed up the metal he was using, it falling to the floor covered with saliva. Mark paid no heed, he merely kept his focus on shooting the remaining three heroes-in-training.

* * *

Cleft only had a second to act before his skull was cracked open. Fortunately that was all that the hero needed. He rolled out of the way just before the princess's heel fell to the floor where his head had been, denting the metal beneath.

As Cleft rolled away Mandie began after him, but a saving grace came in the form of Sonic, who suddenly let out a sonic scream in her direction. Like before, it only knocked her back a few steps before she regained her footing. She then began walking against the sound waves, intending to repeat her response to the last time this attack had been tried.

However, Sonic did something unexpected. As Mandie pushed against his sound waves, he suddenly stopped the attack. Now having nothing to push against, Mandie fell forward, falling flat on her face.

Cleft, Dib, Fatale, and Wonder Gal, having sensed this attack, took advantage of it. With the princess down they rushed in with their staff, fists, and claw. The result was three blows to the head and a deep claw mark across her back. It was just enough to cause the princess to fall unconscious.

Satisfied, Cleft looked over at where Mark had Muncher Lad in his vice grip. He continued to fire the machine gun at his opponents, hoping to pump them full of highly advanced lead.

However, he made a mistake of underestimating his captive's ability to escape. With all his effort, Muncher Lad managed to bend down and bite the tentacle that was wrapped around him.

Now, since Muncher Lad's teeth were meant to chew through steel, Mark's tentacle was very weak to it. In fact, it nearly went all the way through. The prince gave a cry of agony, dropping the hero, who rolled away desperately trying to catch his breath. Mark was about to nurse his tentacle when two chin-a-rangs slammed into his gun. Since his grip was already loose due to him being preoccupied with his injury, the gun flew out of his tentacle, skidding across the floor. Before he could go after it, he was suddenly surrounded. The nine kids surrounded him, each with their weapons ready, clearly intending to put an end to the battle.

Mark assessed the situation. He was unarmed, his partner was down, and he was surrounded. He knew the truth, and decided to accept it.

"Enough," he stated simply, putting up his tentacles. 'You have won," he admitted, much to the heroes-in-training's surprise. Mark pressed the middle button on his suit. Suddenly the floor underneath him lifted into a small metal disk, which floated Mark up and above his opponents. "You have won the ditch-eh-fat."

"Ditch-eh-fat? What the heck is that?" Muncher Lad asked.

"Sorry, I sneezed," he said, rubbing a tentacle where his unseen nose was. "I meant to say death combat. At any rate, you have won. As per Yugopotamian custom, you are, like, totally free to go." He pressed another button on his suit, and a door opened in the arena, allowing them to leave.

The kids were shocked at what they were hearing. They were being let go, just like that.

However, at that moment, something happened. Several robots surrounded them. Unlike the ones Bob had used on them a few months ago, these were much more sinister looking. They were dome shaped, with skull-like faces that had evil green eyes and antennas coming up on either side. They had extra armor on their shoulders, and arms that ended in thick clamps. Their bodies thinned down and ended where a person's waist would be, kept afloat by an anti-gravity device. Floating behind them was Mandie on her own disk.

"This was fun, but playtime's over. Robots, rip them apart!"

"Wait!" Mark yelled, jumping in front of his fiancée. "They, like, totally won fair and square. As per our custom, they are free to go."

"Mark, I keep telling you, your people have to drop this honor code, we're fighting a war! We can't just let them go free!"

"We must!" the prince declared, clenching his undamaged tentacle like a fist. "Centuries of tradition demands it!"

"Forget tradition!" the Bodacian declared. "I say…hey!" she cried, because at that moment she noticed the nine children racing out the opening Mark had made earlier.

* * *

Having taken advantage of Mark and Mandie's argument, the nine children raced through the halls. Luckily, they managed to find an empty supply room to hide is as Mandie and her robots sped by, convinced that their prey had gone on.

Once they had passed, they stepped back into the halls and ran in the opposite direction. How many turns they took is a number long forgotten, but they eventually came upon a dead end.

"Great, now what?" Princess whined.

"I don't know, every hall looks the same," AJ said, exasperated.

Suddenly, the sound of someone clearing his throat alerted them. They turned around to see Mark, standing nonchalantly by a door. Immediately everyone readied themselves, but the alien simply used his remote to open the door next to him. Inside was what appeared to be a cockpit, big enough to seat them all.

"As per our customs, you are free to go. So, like, go." With that he turned around and slithered off.

The heroes-in-training were stunned. Dib, however, rushed toward their salvation.

"Whoa, wait, Dib!" Cleft shouted, running after him. "Are you sure we can trust Mark?"

"Relax," he assured, "I learned Yugopotamian custom during SEN training. What he said was true. Get in."

"Wait, do we really want to trust these guys?" AJ protested even as his friends were beginning to comply. "I would have to be pretty desperate to trust that prince guy."

Suddenly, a loud shrill voice rang through the ship. "When I find you Earthlings, I'm going to pull out your insides and make you eat them!"

AJ's eyes shrunk two sizes. "That'll do," he said quietly before rushing into the escape pod.

Now, Dib had learned to pilot all kinds of ships from SEN, so it didn't take him long to figure out how to operate the escape pod. Within minutes it was working, and the class began their quick journey back to their nearby home planet.

* * *

Mandie screamed in rage as she used her recovered sword to pierce one of her robots in anger. "I can't believe those little larvae escaped!" she roared.

Mark, who was sitting on his throne in the cockpit, spoke nervously. "Now Mandie, please calm yourself. You realized we would've had to totally let them go anyway…"

"Enough of your customs, Mark!" the woman bellowed, her hair turning to flames. "Customs don't bring back prisoners!"

"So, you two are supposed to be the elite warriors of your home planets? Pathetic," a new voice said.

The two rulers turned to see a new figure in their cockpit. Unlike a Yugopotamian or a Bodacian, this figure resembled an insect, with two big red eyes, antennas that poked up from the head and then bent back, and a mouth with zipper-like teeth. He was clothed in a dark-red suit with lines running across it, complete with a lighter red collar. His arms were covered in sinister black gloves that had only three fingers. His legs were covered in similar boots, completing his outfit.

"Oh, shut up, Zim," Mandie growled. "I didn't see you getting in the arena."

"That's because I didn't think you'd be truly foolish enough to try and face them. I warned you they were powerful. You should have listened to Zim!" he declared, adding emphasis on his name.

"And what's more you allowed that filthy Dib-worm to escape…but no matter. I just received my weapons request from Irk. Now I'll show you how to truly conquer a planet."


	5. Invaded II: Gigglepies

A/N: Here's the next chapter.

Disclaimer: Fairly Oddparents copyright Butch Hartman and Nickelodeon. Superhero trademaek DC and Marvel.

* * *

Cleft moaned as he slowly began to enter the waking world. As he did, memories from the previous day came back to him.

Thanks to his experience with SEN, Dib had managed to pilot the escape pod back to Earth without many incidents. It was the landing, crashing into the center of Dimmsdale, that no one liked. Due to the massive invasion, the crash had scarcely been noticed. They then went to a secondary bunker and radioed in their teachers. Thanks to the confusion of the invasion, they hadn't been missed.

Cleft threw off the sheets and got out of the plain bed he had slept in, looking over at AJ and Muncher Lad, who were waking up in similar beds. Slowly he reached for his uniform, which he had thrown on the floor the night before. He quickly began changing, as did his bunkmates. Once they were clothed, they went into the bunker's main room.

The others were already there, as was Dib, who had opted to stick with the group until he had a lead on his sister. The room was plain, just a long table, a counter, some cabinets, a stove, microwave, toaster, and a fridge.

The others were already gathered around the table, eating a breakfast consisting of overcooked toast and poorly prepared scrambled eggs, courtesy of Wonder Gal's poor cooking. Nevertheless, they ate, mostly in silence.

And that's when it hit Cleft.

"Hey, do you guys hear that?" the red capped hero asked. There was a pause as everyone strained their ears.

"Timmy, I don't hear anything," Wonder Gal asked confused.

"Exactly," he pointed out. "Where's the explosions? Where's the gunfire? Where's the war?"

It was at that point that they realized what the de facto leader meant. Last night they had fallen asleep to the sounds of the great battle raging overhead. Now everything above was quite and peaceful.

"It can't be over already," AJ said, somewhat reluctantly. "You think it's a temporary ceasefire?"

"I doubt it," Dib said, munching on a piece of toast. "I studied Yugopotamian battle tactics. They rotate their soldiers so they constantly attack, so that they can wear their opponents out."

"How does SEN know all this about the Yugopotamians?" Muncher Lad finally asked. "We only heard about them yesterday."

"Sorry, that's classified," the bespectacled boy muttered, munching on his breakfast.

"Figures," AJ muttered, a little unnerved by how calmly he had said that.

"And if it were over, then the teachers would have gotten us," Wonder Gal concluded.

"Then something's up," Cleft said, rubbing his chin. "Come on, we're going to find out what."

* * *

"Now, get ready for a shocker," Cleft said as he opened the bunker door. "Dimmsdale probably looks like a bomb hit it…"

The hero-in-training was stunned not by the amount of destruction. Quite the contrary, Dimmsdale looked very much intact, but it was altered.

All the buildings were now colored in bright colors. Pink, blue, purple, and yellow came together in a sickeningly bright rainbow. Adding to that was the bright pink hearts that decorated everything. The streets were decorated in a similar manner, looking like a scene from a child's storybook. Flowers and butterflies were everywhere. An unnatural rainbow ran across the now-clear sky. It was as if there was no invasion at all.

"…Or not," Cleft said weakly.

"What the—…?" was the only conclusion AJ could come to.

"You think we died and we're in heaven?" Fatale asked softly, a little scared.

"No," Dib answered a bit apathetically. "My version of heaven isn't this sugary."

Slowly the group walked forward, not knowing what to expect. "You think this is some sort of Yugopotamian trick?" Wonder Gal asked, rubbing her head in confusion.

"Whatever it is, it is most disturbing," Sonic commented.

Sparky nodded. "Yeah, this whole thing feels-gah!" The electrified hero yelled in surprise when someone tapped his shoulder, even though he was in the back row. Alarmed by the outburst, everyone joined him in turning around, ready for combat.

Instead, they stood in shock at what they saw.

It looked like a rabbit, only two feet high, with bright yellow fur, long ears, and a red antenna coming from the top of its head that was tipped with a heart. Its eyes were big and purple, displaying sheer happiness and innocence, with long eyelashes to go along with it. His small snout ended with a pink, heart shaped nose and a mouth that gave a welcoming smile. It stood upright, with small arms and oversized feet. Around its neck it wore a pendent, plain white with a red heart in the center. When it spoke, it sounded like a toddler of no more than three years.

"_Hi, I'm Trilli, the trust Gigglepie,_

_Part of a race that came down from the sky."_

At that point, all nine members of Trilli's audience spoke as one, with hearts appearing in their eyes. "Awww, it's so cute!" Then, as quickly as the gushing started, six voices, namely those of the boys, returned to normal. "And now we don't care."

The girls, however, rushed to the small creature, cooing at it like a newborn kitten.

"Look at its big ears!"

"And its button nose!"

"And those adorable little paws!"

These compliments came so fast it was impossible to say who gave them. The boys only watched with a bit of disgust.

"So, what is this thing?" Cleft finally asked Dib.

"No clue. Whatever these things are, I've never heard of them," the boy replied. "That worries me. These things are way too sweet," he declared, crossing his arms. "Something's up."

"Then let's find out what," the leader said boldly, marching up to the small creature his female companions were gushing over. "Look, what's going on here? Where are the Yugopotamians?"

"_Yugopo-what-e-whats? I do not see!_

_Right now, there is only laughter and glee!"_

"Well, then, take us to your leader," he demanded, feeling dirty from using such a cliché.

"_I'm Trilli, the trust Gigglepie _(accessories not included)_ you can surely trust me,_

_I will now take you to Overlord Blee."_

With that, the rabbit creature began happily skipping off, with the three girls following right behind him still cooing, and the boys still following reluctantly.

"Forget the Yugopotamians," AJ muttered. "These things are creepy enough."

* * *

Meanwhile, on the Yugopotamians' main ship, Mark sat in his quarters, completely alone.

That was what he wanted at the moment. He needed to clear his head. He needed to think.

As he sat on his bed, one figure ran through his head. I had been six Earth months since his engagement to Mandie had been announced. At first, he was ecstatic. He would be a king with two planets filled with warriors to rule. When he actually saw his bride-to-be, however, he was put off. While the Bodacian princess was beautiful by Bodacian standards, she was hideous to the Yugopotamians. Still, he bore it with the promise of immense power, at least at first.

As time wore on, he became increasingly disillusioned with the arranged marriage. Not only was Mandie hideous, but domineering as well. She effectively started making his decisions for him, choosing what prisoners he would torture, what conquering campaigns he would partake in. Even through it all, he bore it.

Then there was what happened yesterday.

Breaking Yugopotamian tradition by not allowing the victors of Death Combat to go free had violated countless generations of traditions. And frying the guard who had accidentally let them escape was uncalled for. As merciless as the race was on the battlefield, they looked after their own.

Would it really be worth ruling over two planets if he had no real power? He knew, deep in one of his three hearts, that it wasn't worth it, that he'd have nothing.

But what was the alternative? He had nowhere to go.

Could he go to another planet? Live there? Unlikely, nearly every planet knew the Yugopotamians as a warlord race, a thing to be hated. No race would accept him.

He sighed heavily. He was trapped.

* * *

Trilli happily skipped through the sidewalks, followed by the class. By now the girls were sporting plastic Gigglepie ears and were carrying several plush dolls. Around them they saw other Gigglepies, all various bright colors, conversing like normal humans should have been.

"This is weird," Sparky stated the obvious. "Where's the war? Is the invasion over?"

"_This may seem strange, but I'm telling you so,_

_The Gigglepies bring happiness wherever they go."_

"I'm warning you," Cleft said, readying his staff, "no funny business."

Trilli merely smiled, pulling a nearby Gigglepie into the conversation. He was purple, with pink eyes and a smiley face replacing the symbol on his amulet and antenna.

"_Oh, no funny, that's not I,_

_Boo-Boo is the funny Gigglepie_

(Boo-Boo joke book not included.)"

"Man, who would be stupid enough to get roped into this garbage?" AJ said out loud.

Meanwhile, the three girls behind him provided the answer.

"I'll give you three Blee-Blees for a Wa-Wa!" Princess said, holding up three stuffed Gigglepie dolls.

"I'll trade you two Popo Kaps for a We-We card!" Fatale returned.

"Oh come on!" AJ said, exasperated.

"Hey, come on," Cleft said, tugging on his girlfriend's arm. "How can you like these things so much?"

"Are you kidding?" Wonder Gal answered, her eyes wide. "How can you not?"

"I'm an eleven-year-old boy. Cute things bore me," he answered, crossing his arms.

While this was going on, Sonic, who was in the back, turned around. Instantly, he froze in shock. "Uh…Cleft?" he asked slowly.

"Not now, Sonic," his leader dismissed him, concentrating on his girlfriend.

"Uh, perhaps you should turn around," he said.

Sighing, the red capped hero turned around. "What is…" he began. Then his eyes widened. "Oh my…"

He saw something disturbing. Several Gigglepies were pulling a large cage on wheels, grimy and depressing to look at, through the streets. That would be strange enough to warrant suspicion on its own, but it was the cage's contents that truly disturbed them. Inside were several children, all of them male, none of them older than eighteen. They seemed quite and resigned, like they knew there was little hope of escape.

Trilli and Boo-Boo saw the children as well and gritted their teeth. "Oh darn, they're early today," the yellow creature said.

This came as a surprise for the boys, not only seeing what they saw but the fact that Trilli hadn't spoken in rhyme. Angrily, Dib charged up his gloves and aimed them at the two Gigglepies. "Alright, what's going on?"

The two creatures smiled, but this time it wasn't a warm, affectionate smile. It was one of malice. Trilli spoke, back in the rhyming habit.

"To our plans, it doesn't cause them much harm

_The fact that you boys can resist our charms._

_For though usually we just cast our spell,_

_Capturing you all will work just as well."_

Muncher Lad's eyes widened. He pointed to the two creatures with terror in his eyes. "They're working with the Yugopotamians!"

"Uh, Chester, we all figured that out," AJ rolled his eyes.

"But I don't think we need to worry," Cleft said, readying his staff. "How dangerous can these little shrimps be?" He began moving toward Trilli and Boo-Boo. However, the Gigglepie kept the smirk.

"_Oh girls, the mean boys are trying to ruin our fun,_

_I think that you know what needs to be done."_

Suddenly the leader felt himself being coated in ice. It took himself a few seconds to realize that Princess had shot him in the back with an ice beam. By the time he came to this conclusion, he couldn't move, and his three female classmates were standing in between him and their enemies, battle ready.

As the boys stood in shock at the unexpected defection, Trilli's smirk grew bigger.

"_You should have played good, you should have played nice,_

_But thanks to your violence, you're going to get iced."_

With that last line, the three girls leapt forward, ready to destroy their former comrades.


	6. Invaded II: Charms

A/N: Here's next chapter. Don't know what else to say.

Disclaimer: Fairly Oddparents copyright Butch Hartman and Nickelodeon. Invader Zim copyright Jhonen Vasquez and Nickelodeon. Superhero trademark DC and Marvel.

* * *

Cleft had faced a lot of near-death experiences in his one-year career as a superhero, but none were as terrifying as the one he was facing now. After all, going out at the hands of a villain was one thing, but getting killed by one's brainwashed girlfriend was something else entirely. And, unfortunately, all of his classmates were too stunned at seeing their allies turn to help him.

But fortunately, he had an ally that wasn't a classmate. Dib, moving fast, used his gloves to carve the red-capped hero out of his ice restraints and pull him to safety just as Wonder Gal's lethal kick passed through the air his head had occupied. The missed attack did little to dissuade the brainwashed soldiers, who continued moving forward, Fatale with her claws out and Princess firing a beam of ice.

By this time, however, the other had snapped out of shock and reacted. AJ put up a mind shield, blocking his girlfriend's attack and creating a wall of ice. Muncher Lad took advantage of this by kicking the wall forward, causing it to slide back into the towheaded heroine, knocking her to the ground. Meanwhile, Fatale almost sunk her claws into Sparky, but he was saved at the last minute by Sonic, who lifted his roommate into the sky, causing the heroine to pass underneath him. Taking advantage of his aerial situation, Sparky threw a bolt downward, striking the brainwashed girl in the back, sending her to the ground. At the same time Wonder Gal ran forward, throwing punches in all directions. Dib finally caught her attack with his gloves, the enhanced strength they gave saving him from a painful experience. In that moment, Cleft came in, preparing to swing his staff.

Then Trilli's words cut through the battle.

"_Your weapons you draw, your muscles you strain,_

_But only your friends will be feeling the pain."_

The group stopped as they realized the Gigglepie's valid point. These weren't enemy soldiers, these were their friends, and they couldn't just beat them down.

Unfortunately the opposite did not hold true. Thanks to the pause, the battle turned. Wonder Gal, tired of grappling, lifted Dib up and tossed him into a nearby building, while Princess fired a beam, icing Muncher Lad's feet to the ground.

Meanwhile Fatale leapt up, trying to cut the duo flying above, but to no avail, at least at the moment. Sonic, not known for his upper body strength, was losing his grip on his friend. Sparky noticed this and desperately tried to think of a plan. He failed to think of something before his friend lost his grip, sending him falling. Fatale grinned, readying his claws to tear her opponent apart.

However, in that moment Sparky's survival instinct kicked in, and he threw out a bolt which struck Fatale in the chest, causing her to fall on her back. Sparky then landed on his feet, albeit somewhat painfully.

Sparky felt a pang of guilt, but it lasted only a second. He hadn't hit her too hard, and a slightly injured teammate was better than being dead. A moment later Fatale jumped to her feet, ready to continue fighting.

Princess shot three icicles at the immobile Muncher Lad, hoping to get him while he was down. Fortunately AJ was quick enough with a mind shield to protect him. Temporarily safe, the gluttonous hero quickly bit the ice pining him to the ground, shattering his restraints. When his brainwashed comrade shot three more icicles, he responded by spitting out the ice, causing the projectiles to hit the enemy fire, neutralizing it.

Wonder Gal lunged at her boyfriend, throwing punches. Cleft dodged them gracefully, trying to reason with her. "Trixie, it's me! Timmy! You know, your boyfriend? You love me!"

"No! You're bad! Trying to hurt those cute creatures!" the heroine yelled, sounding half her age. Cleft dodged another punch, wondering what to do. Despite what common sense was telling him to do, he couldn't bring himself to strike his brainwashed mate. This ended up being a painful weakness, as her boot found its way to his chest, kicking him into the same building Dib had crashed into.

Fortunately, Dib had recovered by now, so when she went in for a follow-up punch, he was able to pull him out of the way and to safety. The girl punched the wall, crashing through it.

"Well, that makes twice that I've saved you. You need to get your head in the game," Dib commented, adjusting his glasses before he returned to battle.

Despite the wisdom of those words, Cleft was unmovable. He had faced powerful sorcerers, evil counterparts, and, by many accounts, the most powerful villain who ever lived, but no battle was as difficult as this one. The girl he loved was a mere puppet, and not even to a powerful villain, but to something that looked like it belonged in a lame eighties television show.

That's when he suddenly realized something. He pulled out his staff and began running, not toward where Dib and Wonder Gal were fighting but toward Trilli and Boo-Boo, who were watching the battle with sadistic glee. Unfortunately, the Gigglepies saw them coming.

"_A target's something I cannot be,_

_So hurry girls and rescue me!"_

Trilli's words got the brainwashed heroines to immediately pull out of the battle, too quick for their unwilling opponents to react. They ran at Cleft, hoping to protect the object of their affection. Not noticing, the boy chin wonder almost made it to his target.

Unfortunately, Wonder Gal proved to be faster. Just before he would have struck, Wonder Gal kicked him in the side sending him across the ground, his staff rolling away from him. Trilli laughed.

"_Did you hear that lovely clack?_

_Your friend there gave you such a whack."_

Undaunted Cleft jumped to his feet just before all three girls ran to him, throwing attacks in all directions. The red-capped hero dodged them all, but barely. He couldn't keep it up for more than a few seconds.

Fortunately he didn't have to. While the girls were stopping Cleft, they forgot about the others. Sparky quickly threw a bolt of lightning straight at the two Gigglepies. It missed Trilli but struck Boo-Boo, causing him to tense up.

Then something odd happened. The rabbit-like alien turned completely brown, his eyes shrinking until he had only sockets. He then crumbled into dust, leaving only a pile of Gigglepie remains.

The girls turned toward the fallen alien, too shocked to do anything. Cleft used the opportunity to retrieve his staff and return to his friends, who were confused about how the creature went.

Trilli, however, was angry.

"_You killed my friend! I'm really sore!_

_I'll make you suffer, that's for sure!"_

Seeing what was coming, Cleft gave the smartest order he had given all day. "Fall back! We need to regroup!"

He met not a single defiance in his ranks. Immediately the group ran in the opposite direction, hoping to escape the wrath of their controlled friends for awhile.

"_Go on girls, seek out your prey,_

_You're sure to kill, o happy day!_

_Make sure that they all will fall,_

_And keep them away from City Hall!"_

The girls obeyed and followed the boys down the street. Unfortunately, they were still close enough that the boys heard Trilli's instructions, and with Wonder Gal's super speed and Fatale's enhanced reflexes, they began gaining fast.

Cleft noticed. As he was coming to a four way intersection in the street, he gave on order. "Split up! Groups of two, we'll try and lose him!"

The order was wordlessly obeyed, with Cleft and Dib heading in one direction, AJ and Muncher Lad in another, and Sparky and Sonic taking the path in the middle. As the three girls followed, they too split up, each taking a different path.

* * *

Cleft and Dib didn't get far before Wonder Gal caught up to them. She grabbed her boyfriend from behind, pushing him into the side of a hotel building. She was about to punch him in the back of the head when Dib ran in and punched her with his glove, sending her stumbling to the side.

Turning around quickly Cleft saw what happened. "Hey, don't hit her!" he yelled angrily.

"Look, you need to forget her for a minute," the SEN member snapped.

"Forget her?" Cleft yelled, trying not to strangle his comrade. "She's my girlfriend!"

At that moment Wonder Gal came charging in, waving her fists. The two boys dodged by jumping back, landing under an awning over the hotel's entrance. "Not right now she's not," he said curtly before leaping forward and punching the girl in the cheek, sending her back. "I know you're conflicted, but letting her kill you isn't the right course of action." As he said this she ran in to punch again, the two flipped back, avoiding the jab.

"I…I just can't hurt her," Cleft admitted bitterly, going back to avoid another punch.

"Well, what else are we supposed to do?" Dib demanded.

At that point an answer presented itself. Above the awning, which was now in front of them, was a flagpole, and above that was a level where the rooms started having balconies. The pair looked at each other, and grinned as the same plan entered their minds.

Instantly the two ran toward Wonder Gal. As she tried to punch them, she was surprised when they jumped, each of them landing with one foot on either of her shoulders. They then jumped off her, landing on the awning. Half a second later they jumped up and grabbed the flagpole, their momentum swinging them forward. The let go and soared toward the balcony edge, managing to just grab the edge. In an instant they pulled themselves up and to safety.

Wonder Gal wasn't pleased. She immediately proceeded to imitate the stunt and, using her super strength, leapt up to grab the flagpole. Unfortunately for her, her enhanced strength meant more mass, meaning the flagpole couldn't support her. It snapped causing her to fall onto the awning, which collapsed, giving her a rough landing on the ground.

She angrily rose to her feet and looked up. Cleft and Dib were still jumping from lower balconies to higher ones, now about halfway to the top. Frustrated, she ran into the building, deciding to take the stairs.

A few minutes later the two boys had reached the top. After three seconds of catching their breath, they began planning. "It won't take long for Trixie to get up here," Cleft noted. "She'd catch up with us no matter where we went."

"I have an idea. Still have a chin-a-rang?"

Cleft wordlessly handed the item to his ally. Dib reached into his coat and pulled out what appeared to be a thin, long rope He tied one end to the weapon, then handed it back to the boy chin wonder. "Throw it at the top of that building," he said, pointing to the top of a slightly taller building.

Even as he preformed the action, he spoke, having an idea what Dib was planning. "Are you sure this rope can hold us?"

"No, but it doesn't have to," he answered as the chin-a-rang embedded itself on the side of the building, just before the top. Cleft was confused, and it only grew when Dib took the rope from him and tossed it off the side of the building, allowing it to dangle. He then grabbed him and ran to the door to the stairs, managing to get behind it before Wonder Gal burst through.

Angrily, the brainwashed girl looked around. She saw the chin-a-rang and rope hanging from the adjacent building and came to the conclusion Dib had been hoping for. Instantly she ran toward the edge and used a super-powered jump to clear the gap, grabbing on to the edge of the roof. She then performed a flip onto the building and began searching for her prey.

Catching their breaths, Cleft and Dib sat for a moment, looking out over the city. That's when they noticed something.

While nearly the entire town was decorated by the Gigglepies' sugary sweet decoration, one landmark seemed overly renovated. The mayor's office was painted bright pink, with a large inflatable Gigglepie head resting on its dome, and an overabundance of flowers decorating its lawn.

Cleft asked the obvious question. "You think that's where that overlord guy Trilli mentioned is?"

"Probably," Dib answered, rubbing his chin. "That would explain why they don't want us near there. We better check it out."

With that the two sped forward, leaping off the rook onto another building, hoping to get to their target quickly.

* * *

Meanwhile, Princess had chased AJ and Muncher Lad into Dimmsdale Park, and was firing ice beams everywhere, hoping to hit them. Muncher Lad kept running forward as he looked back, seeing Princess firing a beam that just passed over his head. Scared, he turned back around…and crashed face first into a tree.

Stumbling back, he regained his composure as he turned around. He was just in time to see Princess fire a beam aimed directly at him.

It would have hit had he not dove to the side, letting the beam ice over the base of the tree. Seeing an opportunity, he kicked the base, which shattered like glass after being frozen. The tree fell forward, its leaf-covered branches landing on top of her.

At that point AJ floated up to him. Having finally noticed he was no longer being followed, he turned around in time to see the attack happen.

"Dude, what was that?" he demanded angrily. "In case you haven't forgotten, that was Veronica, our teammate, remember?"

Muncher Lad was frozen. For a second, he had forgotten, the heat of battle having gotten to him. His mind desperately struggled, trying to think of an answer.

Fortunately, he was spared this fate when Veronica's shouts came out of the branches. "I'm going to get you for that, Chester! You'll pay for defying the Gigglepies!"

Hiding a breath of relief, Muncher Lad turned to AJ. "See? She's not hurt, just pinned."

"We need to get her out of there!" the boy genius yelled desperately, floating toward the fallen tree, but was stopped by Muncher Lad.

"Hey, boy genius, in case you've forgotten, she's trying to kill us!" he yelled, amazed by his friend's temporary stupidity. "We need to get to City Hall. If that rabbit thing wants to keep us away from there, it must have something important." As he spoke, he tried to pull his roommate toward said building.

"But…we can't leave her here!" AJ cried.

Muncher Lad arched an eyebrow. "Why do you care so much?"

AJ's eyes widened as he realized how close he was to spilling his secret relationship. His cheeks reddened. "Oh, uh, well, she's a teammate. We can't leave her behind."

Under ordinary circumstances Muncher Lad probably would have caught his friend's stuttering and figured things out, but he was under pressure. "We'll be more help to her if we take down the Gigglepies, now let's go!"

AJ knew his friend spoke the truth, but was still reluctant to leave his secret girlfriend's side. Still, he reluctantly followed his friend toward City Hall.

It was two minutes later that Princess calmed down enough to realize the quick way out. She froze the branches, then shattered them. Angrily she ran after her friends toward City Hall.

* * *

Fatale chased Sonic and Sparky through the streets. In a desperate attempt to escape, they ran into an alleyway, but the clawed heroine followed.

And unfortunately the alley was a dead end.

Fatale charged in, shrieking, ready to tear her enemies to shreds. However, Sonic tried a tactic he had used earlier that day, namely lifting his roommate up and out of danger. Fatale ran under them, impaling her claws in the brick wall. As she desperately tried to pull her claws loose, Sonic flew over the wall and dropped Sparky to the ground.

"Let us go to City Hall," Sonic suggested, something Sparky only nodded to. They then sped off toward said destination.

A few minutes later Fatale managed to pull her claws free. Angrily, she left the alley, racing toward the location she heard the boys discuss.

* * *

Despite the low probability of it, the heroes all reached City Hall at the same time. After quickly checking to make sure everyone was okay, they talked about what to do next.

"We should just rush in," Muncher Lad said.

"Oh, brilliant," AJ rolled his eyes. "We don't know how many of them there are in there."

"Come on, you saw how easily that purple one was destroyed. We could take out tons of these guys easy!" Muncher Lad said confidently, waving his friend's worry away.

"Yeah," Sparky quipped. "That bolt was pretty weak, but it dissolved him so quickly. We'll be fine."

Sonic turned to Cleft. "You are our leader. What is your call?"

Cleft rubbed his chin a moment. "I think we better. We might not have too much time before the girls find us. We should just go for it."

"Sounds good," Dib said, charging his gloves. "Let's move."

Seconds later they blew open the door to City Hall, ready to fight.

They stopped.

Every wall in the building save the outer ones had been removed. The building was one big room, with only one occupant.

It was a Gigglepie, with white fur and pink on the insides of his ears, his snout, and the soles of his feet, with purple eyes and a light blue nose. A crown rested on the top of his antenna. He wore a light blue shirt with a medallion that had a crown on it. He clutched a scepter in his right paw. It was pink, with a dark stripe running up it like a barbershop pole. On its tip was a golden orb, which supported yet another crown.

"_Hello you all, I'm Overlord Blee,_

_Won't you come and bow down to me?"_


	7. Invaded II: Blee

A/N: Here's the final part of this arc.

Disclaimer: Fairly Oddparents copyright Butch Hartman and Nickelodeon. Invader Zim copyright Jhonen Vasquez and Nickelodeon. Superhero trademark DC and Marvel.

* * *

Cleft paused as he looked around the modified City Hall. No weapons, no guards, nothing. The only thing in this room appeared to be the head Gigglepie, sitting on a throne and smiling maliciously.

Still on his guard, the head hero stepped forward. "Alright, let's have it. How are you controlling our friends? And this planet? And why aren't we affected?"

"And while you're on the subject," Dib spoke up, stepping forward and charging up his gloves, "I know you're working with the aliens that took my sister, so you better cough up where she is."

Despite the situation Blee kept smiling.

"_I'm glad you all asked, you're all really smart,  
Let me give you this info with this neat little chart."_

At that point, as if responding to Blee's words, several tiles on the ceiling parted, and a fancy television screen began to lower, stopping above the Gigglepie leader's head. It instantly turned on, revealing a strange emblem on a purple backdrop. It consisted of a small triangle pointing down with a curved top, which complimented a circle directly above it. Above the circle was an odd shape that was pointed at the edges. It gave the impression of being the bottom on the triangle that the circle was covering. To either side of this shape were two more shapes that gave the impression of antennas.

Whatever it was, Dib must have recognized it enough to look at it with fear.

"_The Gigglepies weren't born the same way as you,  
We were made in a lab; it's strange, but it's true.  
Our cuteness, it throws planets for a curve,  
And that pleases the Irken masters we serve."_

Dib clenched his fists. "So, you do serve Zim. Then where's my sister? Tell me!

Blee lost the cheerful smile, now looking angry.

"_It's really rude to interrupt,  
So listen to me and keep your mouth shut!"_

Then, suddenly, the Gigglepie was all smiles again. Behind him the Irken emblem changed to a simple bar graph. One line was labeled "sales" and was red and very short. The other was marked "freedom" which was brown and very tall.

"_Taking over a planet isn't all that tough,  
We sell planets dry by selling Gigglepie stuff.  
You can see by these lines (one red, one brown),  
As our sells go up, their freedom goes down."_

As the head Gigglepie spoke, the graph responded to her words. The red bar rose steadily, with the brown one lowering to nonexistent levels.

Muncher Lad scratched his head. "But, if you charm planets into submission, then why aren't we affected?"

Blee frowned.

"_Your leader said so, don't give me this chore,  
When it comes to cute things you find them a bore.  
Usually we would just cast our spell,  
But caging all boys works just as well."_

"Yeah, well, it ends here," Cleft declared, drawing his staff. The rest of the heroes followed his example, preparing for battle. "Six against one sounds like an easy fight. We're not afraid of you."

To their surprise, Blee kept the sinister smile simply pointing its paws behind them.

"_You're right; it isn't me you should fear,  
When the greater threat comes from your rear."_

Confused, the group turned around, looking outside the still open door. Instantly they say something that made their blood run cold. The three brainwashed heroines were rushing toward City Hall, with Wonder Gal for ahead of her other classmates.

"Oh crud," was the first conclusion Cleft came to. It was immediately followed by, "Quick, get the door shut and lock it! Remember, this is Dimmsdale, this building was built to withstand an attack!"

"Then how'd we get in?" Muncher Lad asked.

"Blee must have figured no one would get this far and never bothered to lock it," AJ rationalized.

"That seems like a lame explanation to me…"

"Who cares?" Cleft shouted, "Just close the door already!"

Sonic and Sparky, who were closest to the doors, were the ones that obeyed this command. They quickly pushed the double doors together. However, at the last moment they were still open, Wonder Gal leapt through, over most of her classmates and right in front of Cleft. She immediately gave a sweep kick, which he jumped over then backed away. His friends rushed to help him but their leader had other ideas.

"I'll be fine," he assured, dodging another punch. "Get Blee!"

Dib immediately followed this order, but his classmates were a little more reluctant. "We can't leave you to fight her alone!" Sonic exclaimed.

"If you take down Blee it might snap her out of it, now move!" Cleft yelled, still backing up.

His classmates found that logical, but they were still somewhat reluctant to turn away from the fight. Still, with Wonder Gal occupied and Fatale and Princess locked outside the Gigglepie leader was vulnerable, it was an opportunity too good to pass up.

Dib, already in front of Blee's throne, pointed his left glove at the leader. "You know, that funny Gigglepie died pretty quick. It only took one hit. The Irken didn't build you very durable, did they?"

Blee just smiled, showing its teeth. Then, suddenly, those flat teeth morphed into fangs.

"_Your logic is flawed, you soon shall see,  
There's a reason I am called Overlord Blee."_

Suddenly blue fur turned red, messy and disheveled. Claws grew out of all four paws, sharp as a razor. Eyes became bloodshot, their irises becoming black and insane looking, with thick black eyebrows framing them. Finally, the t-shirt became white. When Blee spoke next, his voice was deep and cold.

"_**You laughed at me, but you didn't guess,  
That your mocking me would equal death!"**_

With that, Blee leapt off his throne, still clutching his scepter, and landed right in front of Dib. Before the SEN member could do anything about it, the lead Gigglepie slashed him across the chest, tearing his shirt to shreds and cutting into his skin. As the boy fell to the ground the villain turned his attention to Sparky. He pointed his scepter at him, which glowed red for a moment before firing a red beam of energy. The attack hit its target in the chest, sending him to the floor with a burn mark on the front of his uniform.

Instantly AJ fired a mind blast, which Blee easily jumped over, sailing through the air and hitting the boy genius in the head with a kick. As AJ flew back the alien leapt off him with a back flip, landing on its feet.

Suddenly Blee was tackled from behind, wrapped in the embrace of Dib's gloves. As it struggled to get loose Sonic flew in, intending to punch his enemy a few times while restrained. Unfortunately Blee managed to get free not only at the worst possible time but in the worst possible way. When Dib lost his grip the alien back flipped over its former captive, making Sonic punch his ally in the gut. Grinning maliciously, the Gigglepie leader slashed him in the back before pushing him forward and onto Sonic, sending them both to the ground.

Then, in a surprise move, Muncher Lad tackled it from behind and made a bite at it. He managed to bite down on Blee's left ear.

He instantly regretted it. He hurriedly spat the ear out, letting it fall to the floor, and desperately spat to try to get the taste out of his mouth. "Ah! Geez, you taste like manure!"

"_**Ah! My ear! You little jerk!  
Of you this beam should make quick work!"**_

With that, Blee's staff began to glow.

* * *

On the Yugopotamian flagship Mark, Zim, and Mandie were watching the whole thing. Standing on the bridge, they were accompanied by two more figures. One was a small robot. It was silver with a head like an upside down dome, with glowing blue eyes and an oversized mouth curved in a smile. His body was oval shaped with a few glowing buttons on his chest. He had circles at his shoulders with metallic arms and hands and two cone shaped feet. Oddly enough he seemed to be eating a taco, despite being made of metal.

The other appeared to be a small moose, completely round with stubs for legs, cartoon eyes and antlers. He looked more like a squeak toy than a weapon, which he really was.

"Ah, our glorious creations," Zim declared clenching his fists. "Look at how quickly the humans fell before our ultimate biological weapons! As soon as those Earth-worms are destroyed, there will be nothing stopping us. The Tallest will congratulate me; the Irkens will praise my name. They'll have to think up of new words for praise just to _**Gir get off my head!**_" His screaming was due to the fact that his robot had decided to climb up onto his head and take a nap. Gir obeyed, crawling off his master's head.

"This tactic does not seem very honorable," Mark lamented, looking at the screen. "For, as a warrior race, we are honored to engage our enemy face-to-face, the only true way to conquer a planet!"

"Foolish Yugopotamian!" Zim declared, jabbing a finger at the prince. "Your foolish tactics are as foolish as a…foolish…thing. In war, you must use every possible advantage, for only then can you feel victory within your grasp and proceed to…"

"Can't either of you ever talk normal!?" Mandie screeched, her hair turning to flames. This elicited meek replies of "My apologies" and "Sorry, dear."

"Let's just watch the rumble," the Bodacian princess said, turning back to the screen. "It's sure to be a riot."

"Yes," Zim agreed, "I will enjoy seeing doom rain down upon the doomed heads of our doomed enemies."

…

"I'm gonna sing the Doom Song now!" Gir exclaimed happily. "Doom, doom, doom, doom, doom, doom, do-doomy doomy, doom, doom, doom, doom…"

* * *

It only took a few seconds for Blee's scepter to power up, and when it did it was fired at near point-blank range.

However, Sonic had managed to get to his feet in time to tackle the Gigglepie leader to the ground, causing him to miss Muncher Lad, the beam traveling over his head. It sailed across the room, hitting the wall near were Cleft was reluctantly fighting Wonder Gal.

"Trixie, please, stop!" he begged avoiding another kick. "You don't want to do this!"

"No, you don't want me to do this!" the brainwashed girl replied.

"Well, yeah," Cleft admitted, ducking under another punch. Despite common sense telling him he had to, he still couldn't bring himself to attack his girlfriend.

Then it happened. After several successful dodges the de facto leader of the class failed to avoid an attack. He was punched right in the ribs by his super strong girlfriend.

The sound of ribs cracking filled his ears as he fell to the ground, crying out in pain. A few seconds later he sputtered, coughing up blood. As he struggled to get up, he felt a foot on his back, pushing him back down and onto the ground. Smiling maliciously, Wonder Gal kicked him, sending him tumbling across the floor. When he came to a stop, he looked up weakly to see his brainwashed girlfriend standing over him, preparing for a final attack.

And then, something happened. At that point, the de facto leader's survival instincts kicked in. He quickly pulled out his staff and swung it at Wonder Gal's feet, knocking her to the ground. This did little to slow her down, but it did enough to keep her down long enough for him to rise to his feet and slam his staff down.

Cleft's staff was made out of a very tough substance, and even with Wonder Gal's strength it still did a significant amount of damage on her. As she cried out in pain Cleft smashed down again, forgetting in that moment who his opponent was, only remembering she was trying to kill him. He slammed down three more times before he suddenly remembered.

By now the young heroine was unconscious. She had bruises on her face, reminders of the beating she had taken. It was ten seconds before Cleft realized what he had done. Dropping his staff, he fell to his knees, his eyes wide in horror. His stomach churned until he vomited, sick at his actions.

How could she forgive him for this?

Then he passed out.

* * *

None of Cleft's classmates saw what had happened, as Blee proved quite a handful. Dib ran in and attempted to punch it, but the Gigglepie leader responded by knocking him in the side with his glowing scepter, burning his face.

"_**Still you all try, but you never learn,  
That suits me fine, your butts I will burn!"**_

Blee's taunts were answered with a bolt from Sparky, which was dodged and countered with a beam from his scepter that struck the electrified hero in the chest sending him back. Sonic then swooped in from overhead and unleashed a sonic scream, which made contact. Gripping his good ear with his free hand, Blee shot some beams from his scepter. The first two missed, but the third struck in the chest, sending the flying hero to the ground.

AJ was up next with a mind blast, followed by another, but the Gigglepie was quicker. It dodged, and then fired, but a mental shield was put up in time to block. Unfazed, Blee continued firing, hoping to weaken the defense to its breaking point.

However, an unknown projectile knocked the scepter from Blee's hand, sending it tumbling across the ground and into a recovered Dib's hands. The Gigglepie turned to see Muncher Lad, standing on a throne that was now half-eaten and spitting the debris like projectiles.

Blee angrily began running on all fours toward its throne, dodging all shots taken at it. It ran up the steps and jumped onto Muncher Lad, slashing him across the chest with both paws. Hurt, the gluttonous hero fell from the high throne, crashing on the floor below.

With Muncher Lad down, Blee ran back down from his throne, avoiding the bolts and mind blasts being thrown at him. Sonic attempted a scream, which was dodged just as effortlessly. Finally, Dib, seeing his enemy coming for the scepter, tried punching him when he was close.

He failed. Blee leapt on him and slashed him across the chest before grabbing the scepter and jumping off of him.

At that point, the door to City Hall finally gave in to Princess and Fatale's efforts to get in, and burst open, allowing the two brainwashed heroines to get inside, followed be several Gigglepies, Trilli among them.

Dib, AJ, Sonic, and Sparky were now surrounded by the numerous figures. Smiling, Blee charged his staff.

"_**While I have quite enjoyed the ride,  
It's time to commit some homici-"**_

Blee's words ended when suddenly an unidentifiable shard burst through its stomach, sticking itself in there.

Completely shocked, the Gigglepie turned around to see Muncher Lad, still very much battle-ready, smiling that his final bit of debris had done its job.

Blee morphed back to his cuddly form unwillingly. He then spoke, for the first time not in rhyme.

"Well gosh."

With that, Blee suddenly turned brown before collapsing in a heap. The scepter fell to the ground and rolling to Dib's feet. The SEN agent stomped on it, breaking it in two.

Suddenly every Gigglepie in the room stopped, frozen in place. Suddenly they all turned brown before crumbling into piles of brown mass.

At that point both Princess and Fatale stopped their menacing glares. They merely looked around confused until the tow headed heroine spoke. "Did we miss something?"

Before any answers could be given, Muncher Lad noticed something more alarming. "Timmy! Trixie!"

At these words everyone noticed the fallen heroes and ran over to them. Kneeling down, Dib checked the leader's pulse, while AJ did the same to Wonder Gal.

"He's fine. Hurt, but fine," Dib said, with AJ nodding as well

"We better get them back to the bunker," the boy genius said.

* * *

"No! Those filthy earth maggots!" Zim yelled, pounding his fists. "They destroyed the scepter! That had the energy source that was keeping my beautiful weapons together!"

"…doom, doom, doom, doom…" Gir sang happily.

"Deploy all Yugopotamian fleets again!" Mark ordered to his men, who saluted him. "Now that the Earth's population is, like, free of our control, we have to do this the old-fashioned way." In truth, the Yugopotamian prince was somewhat relieved. Now they could do this the honorable way.

"That's it!" Zim yelled angrily. "That filthy Dib has been tormenting me for too long! I'm going to take him out myself!"

"…doom, doom, doom…" Gir sang.

* * *

A/N: Real quick, I'll admit some of the rhymes in the last three chapters were "inspired" by rhymes from Banjo-Kazooie's Big Bad Gruntilda. Also, anyone who knows where Blee's last words come from gets a cookie.


	8. Invaded III: Zim

A/N: Sorry for the delay. Next arc starts now.

Disclaimer: Fairly Oddparents and Invader Zim copyright Nickelodeon. Yes, I was lazy with the disclaimer, so sue me.

* * *

When Cleft awoke, the first thing he felt was pain. Not an active pain like he was being struck, but a more subtle, throbbing pain was hammering at his ribs. Slowly and groggily he opened his eyes, the world a blur. When he tried to sit up, two arms on either side of him pinned him gently back down.

"Easy," AJ's voice was heard. The red capped hero turned his head right to see a blurry image that slowly came in focus as his roommate. To his other side was Dib, who readjusted his glasses. "You're still pretty bruised."

"What happened?" Cleft asked. Then remembrance washed over his brain. "What happened to the Gigglepies?"

"They're gone," the SEN agent assured. "When we destroyed Blee's scepter, all the other Gigglepies crumbled into some weird black mud or something."

"After that, the girls and everyone else in Dimmsdale returned to normal," AJ continued, anticipating his leader's next question. "But immediately afterwards the Yugopotamians went back to doing things the old-fashioned way. That, plus the fact that Trixie tore into you pretty bad, we decided to get back to the bunkers."

Hearing this, Cleft suddenly remembered that his girlfriend had struck his ribs. His eyesight now back to him, he realized he was indeed back in the bunker, but he barely registered that. Instead he looked down at his body, seeing that the upper parts of his uniform had been stripped, and bandages had been wrapped around his torso. "How bad is it?"

"Well, the best we can tell is that you have three cracked ribs," AJ sighed. "And since we don't have Music Master's magic, that means you're out of action until the invasion ends."

Cleft sighed heavily. It figured; an entire planet at war and he was going to miss it.

But wait, should he really be thinking this way? These constant battles had nearly cost him his life and Trixie's a few months ago, yet he seemed all too willing to leap back into the fray. Was he getting too into this?

"I bet you want to see Trixie now," AJ said, interrupting his thoughts before he could go any deeper. He snapped back to reality and, when he registered the question, nodded.

The two scientists left the room without another word. A few moments later Wonder Gal walked into the room, looking nervous and vulnerable, very unlike her. Her boyfriend failed to notice this however, because something else was distracting him. On her face was a rather large bruise, a reminder of the battle that had taken place several hours earlier. Just seeing it sent a pang of guilt through him.

"Um…hey," she said slowly.

"Hey," Cleft answered in the same tone.

For a moment, the two of them just stood awkwardly in silence, unsure of what to say to each other. After a few seconds, the de facto leader found the nerve to speak.

"Look, Trixie…I'm really sorry," he began, picking his words carefully. "I mean, I didn't even realize what I was doing. You had me cornered, and my instincts just kicked in…I-I never meant to hurt you, that's the last thing I wanted to do. I just…"

"Timmy," Wonder Gal said firmly, interrupting her boyfriend. She began slowly walking toward his bed. "You don't have to explain yourself to me. I completely understand." On the last line, she sat on the edge of the simple bed, smiling warmly.

"Really? I mean, I hit you pretty hard…"

"Timmy, stop, you should know I've had worse," she said, putting her hand on his shoulders. "Besides, if you hadn't have acted I might have interfered with the fight against Blee, and I think saving the world makes up for a few bruises. This doesn't change anything between us." With that, she softly kissed him on the lips.

When she pulled back she looked into his eyes lovingly. While it was meant to be a loving gesture, Cleft saw something in his girlfriend's eyes. While she was smiling, he could see the sadness in her expression, an emotion she was burying within her. Was she lying? Did seeing him remind her of the damage he had caused?

"Trixie…I…"

Before he could finish, a loud crash sounded from outside the room. This was followed by several more, giving both of the heroes-in-training the impression that something serious was going on. Cleft sat up quickly, but his ribs gave him a very painful reminder of his previous battle.

In an instant his girlfriend had pushed him back down. "No. You're hurt, you need to rest."

Cleft wanted to argue, but he knew that she was right, and it would be pointless to argue with her regardless. After a few seconds he sighed. "Fine…but hit whoever it is extra hard for me, okay?"

Wonder Gal smiled before giving him a peck on the cheek. "Count on it."

00000

In a flash the super strong heroine was out in the bunker's main room, where everyone else was already gathered, looking up at the stairway that led to the exit. They had all come to the same conclusion, that someone was trying break in.

It turned out to be a correct assumption, because at that moment the stone door was knocked off its hinges and came flying down the stairs, sending the group in two directions as they dodged it. In the shadows an unrecognizable figure walked down the steps. It was only when something emerged from the shadows that it was identified by Dib. What appeared to be two long, purple spider legs made of metal stepped forward, their sharp ends piercing the floor where they walked, and not long after they revealed their owner.

"Zim!" the SEN member shouted. "He's the alien that kidnapped me and my sister!"

"I heard you little worms destroyed the Gigglepies," Zim said. "I came by to repay the favor." With that, he swung his left front spider leg forward, striking his rival in the chest and sending him into the concrete wall.

The others, of course, were not going to just stand by. Sonic, Sparky, Princess, and AJ all fired their projectiles at the Irken invader. However Zim proved much too fast, as he leapt from the entryway and across the room. When he landed across the room he used his two back legs to pin Sonic and Sparky painfully to the floor. Following that he jabbed the remaining two legs forward, attempting to stab Princess and AJ. The both dodged, and the tow headed heroine froze the legs to the ground.

While it only took a few minutes for him to get his weapons free, it was still plenty of time for Wonder Gal and Fatale to get close enough to deliver a punch and a slash to the Irken's body. The invader fell back a bit before Muncher Lad jumped onto his back. Immediately he began messing around with the inner workings of the pak the spider legs emerged from, pulling wires randomly.

"Hey, what do these do?" he asked as he continued messing with the weapon, causing the legs to move erratically, having the fortunate side effect of causing them to step off of the heroes he was pinning down.

"You little maggot! Quit defiling my mighty technology with your human filthyness!" With that, Zim slammed backwards into the wall, smashing Muncher Lad. As he fell to the ground, Dib jumped into the fray and gave a punch, causing the invader to fall onto his back.

The Irken was dazed for only a minute before he saw Wonder Gal, Fatale, and Dib jumping toward him. Zim saw this and used one leg to knock Dib and Fatale out of the air, then did the same to Wonder Gal with the other. Sparky and Sonic, now recovered, tried firing their projectiles, but the invader was far too fast and leapt out of the way. He then moved toward the entrance as fast as his spider legs could carry him.

"Running away, Zim?" Dib sneered. "All that superior Irken technology and you can't handle a bunch of kids?"

"You're in no position to boast, Dib beast," Zim sneered. "Now that I'm getting away, you'll never find your precious sister!"

Dib's eyes widened as the Irken invader let out a loud evil laugh. "Mwa, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha!" Then, almost politely, he waved. "Bye!" With that, he began running up the steps and out into Dimmsdale.

Immediately Dib ran after him, but was stopped when Wonder Gal grabbed his arm with a firm command. "Stop!"

"Let go of me!" was the equally firm reply.

"Can't you see he wants you to follow him? He's leading you right into a trap! You can't…"

When Wonder Gal failed to follow Dib's warnings the agent punched her in the jaw with his gloves, cutting off her objections and making her follow the command. Before anyone could stop him he ran up the steps, clearly to pursue his rival.

"After him! We got to stop him before he gets himself killed!" On that command, most of the class followed Wonder Gal…most of them.

"Forget it!" AJ said, crossing his arms. "If Mr. Government Conspiracy wants to get killed, I say we let him."

"Do what you will," Sonic said simply, "but we are going to help him." With that, the heroes left, leaving the boy genius alone in the bunker.

For a few moments AJ just floated in silence. Finally, giving a deep sigh, he began floating toward the steps, wondering why the hero complex had to kick in at times like this. "I just know I'm going to regret this."

000000000

Dib didn't have to run far before he caught up to his rival, because he seemed quite content to stop a mere block away from the bunker, whereupon he just stood and smiled a content and evil smile. The sound of the great air battle going on overhead doing nothing to faze him.

"Alright Zim, where's Gaz? Tell me before I pound you into the ground!" the SEN member demanded. At that point the rest of the class had managed to catch up, ready for battle.

"Yeah, we have you outnumbered!" Sparky declared.

In response to this, Zim calmly shook his head. "Foolish Earth worms. Especially you, Dib. You have intelligence…for a human anyway, skill in battle, and a determination rivaling most Irkens. I could almost respect you, if you didn't fall prey to the disease of emotion."

"Do you ever shut up?" Princess groaned. "You seem smug for someone about to get their but kicked."

"See, this is what I'm talking about," the Irken said sadistically. "The Dib beast's love for his sister has caused him to walk right into my superior trap!"

Suddenly, a bright light engulfed the group, making it impossible to see.

000000000

When the light faded, it was an unwelcome sight.

They were back in the Yugopotamian arena, and Zim was now behind an army of Yugopotamian soldiers, all of which had their axes and guns pointing toward them.

"You see, we Irkens are not concerned with illusions like love and honor. All that matters is who prevails. If you succeed, who's going to care if you fought honorably? Those ideals are for the weak, and the weak merely exist to serve the strong. That's all we're doing here, restoring the natural order."

"Oh, brother," AJ rolled his eyes. "Just like the Nega Chin, an egotistical nutjob."

"Do not compare me to a mere human!" Zim roared. "Had he lived we would have merely destroyed him as well. But, despite myself there is some small part of me that knows mercy." On that line, his eyes fell on his hated rival. "Dib, I will allow you to see your sister once before I destroy you." With that, he pointed behind where the heroes were standing.

Dib's eyes widened in horror. There she was, standing up in the stands, though forced to since she was apparently tied to a metal pole with a green band made of energy. Another band wrapped around her mouth prevented her from talking. Purple hair decorated her head with bangs covering her forehead and long strands coming down behind her ears. She wore a dark purple suit that ended in a skirt and sported a skull in the center, though it was currently covered by the band restraining her. It had light purple sleeves that matched her socks, which ended with black shoes. Her skin was pale, even more so than her brother, and she seemed to be squinting. Strangely, she didn't seem scared, just annoyed at her predicament.

"I hope you enjoyed that, because it's my last bit of charity for the century," Zim sneered. Then he gave a single order to the small army. "Restrain them and prepare their execution ceremony!"

In a flash it became a melee, with the seven heroes-in-training trying to avoid capture and the SEN agent trying to fight his way to his sister.

Observing the fight, Zim gave a wicked grin. His pak opened up, revealing an oblong device on a pole that was essentially a glorified telephone. He spoke a quick command. "Gir! Minimoose! Come to the arena to witness your master's victory!"

000000000

Somewhere deep within the Yugopotamian craft Gir sat at a table, violently eating a platter of tacos in front of him, while Minimoose simply floated beside him and squeaked. However, as soon as he heard Zim's transmission in his head, he grinned his mindless grin.

"We gotta go, pig, we'll see you later," he chirped happily. Indeed, on the other side of the table sat a rather large pig, who seemed to be unaware of his situation.

Then, suddenly and for no apparent reason, Gir leapt onto the table and screeched the line again.

"_Wegottagopigwe'llseeyoulater!"_ With that he activated the rockets in his feet and flew off, with Minimoose following closely behind him.

0000000

Back at the arena the battle was beginning to take a turn for the worse, at least from the heroes' perspective. Sonic continuously unleashed a sonic scream, knocking soldiers down wherever he faced, but was soon forced to stop and catch his breath. Sparky tried to cover him but was soon overwhelmed, until one got close enough to strike him with the blunt side of his axe, knocking him out.

"Elmer!" the Indian hero yelled for his fallen comrade, but he could do nothing, because at that moment two guards grabbed each of his arms. He struggled, but their grip remained tight. Through unseen methods, he felt a band wrap around his body, then another around his mouth.

Meanwhile Fatale was dashing through the crowd, slashing a few soldiers and dodging any attempts to grab her. This worked well until she happened to leap into the air to dodge a low attack. Unfortunately, a smarter than average soldier was near her and he knew a simple fact of physics, namely that you can't change direction in the air. He simply stuck his axe out, and Fatale hit it head first. She was unconscious before she hit the ground.

AJ continually fired mind blasts, but to no avail. A guard snuck up behind him and before he knew it an energy band was wrapped around his torso.

"Hey, what the…" were the only words he got out before he was struck with the blunt end of the axe, knocking him out.

It was Muncher Lad that had the hardest time fighting. With nothing to use as projectiles, he had to try something dangerous. When one of the guards swung his axe he leapt unto it and began biting down onto it until only a staff remained. Now loaded, he began firing the debris in rapid fire, knocking many guards onto their backs.

When he ran out of ammo he immediately jumped on the nearest axe, intending to devour it, but a trick could be played too many times, as he found out. When he landed on the axe, the Yugopotamian simply slammed it onto the ground, nearly crushing the gluttonous hero. Needless to say he wasn't conscious afterwards.

Princess survived for a while by using her powers to freeze any soldiers that tried to get near her. She was tempted to create a miniature snowstorm to blind her opponents, but she knew it would affect her teammates as well. Aside from Muncher Lad, they would be blinded as well.

So, she resorted to using her beams to freeze anyone she could. It worked for awhile, but superior numbers got to her. She was grabbed from either side by two Yugopotamians, but she used her powers to freeze their tentacles so they let go in surprise. She then blasted them both with beams, freezing them solid.

This victory wasn't celebrated, however, as another soldier pointed a gun at her. It was unusual, in that it looked like something out of a hokey comic book. It was yellow and round, with a strange antenna like barrel, straight out of Buck Rogers. Before Princess could react the alien fired. She barely got a look at the projectile, green and round energy, before it struck her chest. Instantly it expanded and wrapped around her. This had been what had restrained her comrades.

Wonder Gal lasted the longest, but not by much. While the up close and personal nature of her attacks meant there were plenty of opportunities to grab her, brute strength saved her from many a close call. It wasn't until one of the soldiers with a band-gun finally got a clear shot at her that she was stopped. The energy used to restrain her was too powerful to break before she was knocked out, courtesy of a soldier's axe.

Dib remained unaware of his allies' capture; he was focused on saving his sister. While he meant a few guards between him and his loved one he either dodged them or ended their attacks with a brief punch to the face. He managed to jump into the otherwise empty stands and reach Gaz's side.

Unlike Wonder Gal, he had plenty of time to pull at the energy band restraining her before it snapped, dissipating into nothingness. He then pulled down the band acting like a gag. The girl's expression didn't change, but she uttered one word. "Dib…"

"Gaz!" the SEN agent cried happily, embracing her sister tightly, tears falling from his eyes. After all his worry and fuss, his little sister was safe with him. He had never felt more relieved.

"Dib…" Gaz said again. Her brother released her, but kept his hands on her shoulders, a warm smile on his face to reassure his precious sister.

It was returned with an evil smile. "You really are an idiot."

Before he could register this unexpected statement, something knocked him into the air and sent him falling back into the arena, hitting the back of his head on the hard floor.

The last thing he saw before losing consciousness was Gaz standing over him…with four mechanical spider legs emerging from her back.


	9. Invaded III: Gaz

A/N: Behold, an update! And the people rejoice!

Disclaimer: Fairly Oddparents copyright Butch Hartman and Nickelodeon. Invader Zim copyright Jhonen Vasquez and Nickelodeon. Superhero trademark DC and Marvel.

* * *

When Dib opened his eyes, the world was blurry, but quickly coming into focus. He didn't see much of anything except the person that was waiting to greet him.

"Wakey, wakey, big brother," Gaz said, her voice laced with sarcasm, "we can't start the party without you."

"Gaz?" the SEN agent asked, trying to get up. At this point he realized his arms and legs were being restricted by the same energy bands that had been used on his comrades. Had he been focusing on something other than his sister, he would have realized he was back in the same cell he had met the heroes-in-training in, though this time the bars were turned off. "What happened, who hit me?"

The younger Membrane child, with her arms crossed and her lips twisted in a cruel smile, spoke. "Dib, Dib, Dib, all those brains and you can't see what's staring you right in the face. I knocked you out, don't you get it? I've betrayed you, you and the Network."

Dib stared at her little sister in slack jawed awe for three seconds. Finally, he shook his head in denial. "Gaz, come on, this isn't funny, I came here to rescue you."

"I don't want to be rescued. In fact, getting abducted turned out to be the best thing that ever happened to me."

For the first time in awhile, Dib Membrane was speechless. It took him half a minute of stuttering for him to get the next question out. "What are you talking about?"

"Well, once Zim abducted and separated us, he gave me a long speech on his views on the universe. It was very insightful. And we found out that we agreed on a lot of things. For instance, we find humans are idiots in general, and the fact that there are just too many idiots in charge. So, since we had so much in common, he did me a few favors."

Dib's mouth went dry as he spoke the next words. "Wh-what do you mean?"

In response, Gaz smiled…and, to Dib's horror, revealed a row of zipper-like teeth.

At that moment, Gaz's eyes opened wide, revealing two pure purple eyes, so much like an Irken's, and a pair of antennas sprouted from under her hair. She turned slightly, but enough for her brother to see the PAK mounted on her back. From it four mechanical spider legs sprouted, lifting her up about a foot in the air.

Her brother stared at her in silent horror, his jaw trembling. Finally, he managed to speak his question. "What did Zim do to you?"

"Nothing I didn't ask him to," his sister said simply. "I've gotten tired of living on Earth, surrounded by idiots. Dad doesn't give a damn about us, he doesn't even recognize us, and you never cared about me!"

Dib was completely shocked. "What are you talking about? I've always looked out for you. I got you into the Network, I trained you myself! I was always there for-"

Dib's objections were cut off when Gaz's fist found its way to her brother's cheek, sending him to the floor of the cell. Groaning and spitting up some blood, the agent looked up at his mutated sister, who was standing tall on the faux spider legs, giving an evil glare and clutching her fists.

"Don't pretend like you care. The only reason that you brought me into SEN was for you. You wanted more help with your research; you wanted someone to be your assistant. I was just a tool to you, someone you hoped to transform into the perfect flunky for your experiments."

Dib rose to his knees, desperately trying to plead his case. "T-that's not true! I cared about you; I just wanted you someplace that I could keep an eye on you, to make sure you're okay!"

"Don't lie to me!" Gaz screeched, striking him with one of her front legs, sending him flying into the back wall. "I was ignored and used on Earth, but now I'm someone. I've been fused with Irken DNA, I have all their skills, their tech, and things are going to be better now! When Zim conquers Earth, the Tallest will give him rule over it, and I'll be sitting at his right hand!"

"You really think anything's going to change?" Dib yelled, pausing to spit out some more blood. "The Irkens are completely totalitarian; they control everything about their people's lives. All you'll ever be to them is exactly what you say you were at SEN: a tool, nothing but a pawn that the Irkens, maybe even the entire Vooras Alliance, use as a means to an end."

"No! I'll have partial rule of this planet!"

"You'll be nothing but Zim's puppet, just another weapon!"

At that last statement, Gaz lunged forward and grabbed her brother by the collar, lifting him off the floor. "You don't know anything," the purple-haired girl muttered, pinning him against the wall. "Besides, it's not like anything you think will matter soon anyway."

"What do you mean by that?" he asked.

In response, Gaz grinned, showing off her mutated teeth. "In just an hour, you and those heroes we're holding in another room will be put to death, and your execution will be broadcast for the whole Vooras Alliance to see."

* * *

"Come on, Mark," Mandie said, walking her fingers up one of his tentacles, "let's snuggle!"

For being in his quarters, the Yugopotamian prince was looking very uncomfortable. His fiancée was being flirtatious, a behavior she only put on when they were alone. Because of that, Mark tried to make sure they were always surrounded by people, something that wasn't an option now.

"Uh, Princess Mandie, I currently am not in the mood and wish to postpone this, like, totally romantic thing," he said, without much conviction.

"Oh, come on, Mark, I'm all wound up! We're about to execute those Earth larva, and I'm too excited to just lay still, I mean-"

"Wait, what?" Mark said, looking shocked and pulling away. "What do you mean?"

As an answer, the Bodacian princess put on a malicious, yet still seductive smile. "Zim is going to do what we should have done back when we first caught them. In just about an hour he's going to behead them on intergalactic television. Isn't that great?"

"What? No!" her fiancé said, rising from the bed and pacing angrily. "They're warriors! According to the Yugopotamian code of honor, they deserve a death in battle. I cannot allow this to happen!"

With that, he began making his way toward the door. Unfortunately, Mandie was quick on her feet and was soon blocking his exit. "Mark, my dear, you need to understand something. No other race in the Alliance follows the idea of honor. We abandoned such notions decades ago, that's how we evolved into such powerful races. Look at the Irkens; they've concurred entire galaxies easily because they have abandoned such notions. You need to do the same or you'll never get ahead."

Mandie shook her head, giving a sympathetic smile. "Oh Mark, you'll understand our position once they're dead, trust me."

The Yugopotamian could only stare in shock, never guessing that the princess would attempt to desecrate his people's customs this greatly. He finally responded by shoving his fiancée out of the way and marching out the door. The princess could only stand there, looking shocked by her future husband's actions.

* * *

Down in Dimmsdale the war continued, the skies filled with flying ships attempting to blow each other out of the sky. Indeed, a few pilots, both Earthen and Yugopotamian, were now running through the streets, searching for cover.

In fact, one Yugopotamian was at that point ducking into an alleyway, hoping to wait out until the comrades won the battle. He gave heavy breaths, though he was somewhat disgusted by the fact that there wasn't nearly enough of what the humans referred to as pollution in the air. He peered into the streets, trying to view the battle.

"Well, look what I've found!" a voice said, causing the soldier to turn around.

Vicky stood in front of him, her arms folded and her claws hidden. Her smile revealed her razor sharp teeth, though the alien found nothing odd about this.

"Leave me, you filthy human," the soldier yelled, prompting the villainess to roll her eyes. "Oh, real original. Who writes your dialogue, some loser college fanboy?"

In response, the Yugopotamian whipped out a small, metallic gun out of his previously unmentioned holster. As he aimed it, he spoke another threat. "Look, human, I'm going to blow your head off if you don't-gah!"

The final word was spoken because, with lightning speed, Vicky moved forward, unsheathed her claws, and cut right through her opponent's outreached tentacle, slicing it off. Before the soldier could even register what had happened, she brought her other set of claws forward and jammed them straight into his chest.

Smiling maliciously, she removed her weapon and allowed the now-dead Yugopotamian to fall to the ground. Not even stopping to wipe the foreign fluids off her claws, she picked the severed tentacle off the ground. Clutching it in her grip, she walked deeper into the alley, disappearing into the shadows.

* * *

In a cell separate from Dib's, the seven heroes-in-training sat in a cramped cell, unsure of what to do next. Like before, they had been stripped of everything, and unlike the last time they doubted the guards would be stupid enough to make the same mistake again.

"Well, now what?" Muncher Lad asked.

"Working on it," both Wonder Gal and AJ muttered, each giving a competitive glance at the other, really wishing that their leader would elect a second-in-command.

"Guys, I know we're never supposed to give up, but I don't think there's any way we can get out of this one," Princess admitted, burying her head in her hands.

Sparky was the first to agree. "Yeah, it's not like a way out is just gonna walk through the door."

At that moment, the door to the room slid open, and Mark slithered into the room, an unreadable expression on his face.

"…Anyone notice how this kind of thing tends to happen a lot?" AJ noted.

"Mark," Wonder Gal spat as the alien prince made his way to the bars of the cell. "Let me guess, you've come to brag before you execute us?"

"Perhaps," the Yugopotamian said simply, "but I'm sure you'd prefer my other offer."

"Yeah, well, unless you're going to let us go, we're not interested," Fatale said.

"Well, dudette, that was, like, totally my plan."

The class looked at their enemy in shock, barely able to comprehend the sudden change of heart. Finally, AJ voiced what everyone was thinking. "It's a trick! There has to be some kind of catch!"

"Most observant," Mark noted. "There is but one thing I request in exchange for your freedom."

"Let me guess, you want information about Earth? Something to help you conquer us?" the boy genius accused.

"Fiend!" Sonic yelled. "We shall never betray our own!"

"I assure you, it's nothing like that," Mark calmed them.

His next words surprised the group even more than anything that had happened over the last few days.

"I'll set you free, if you take me with you."


	10. Invaded III: Jailbreak

A/N: Chaper three, blah, blah, blah.

Disclaimer: Fairly Oddparents copyright Butch Hartman and Nickelodeon. Invader Zim copyright Johnen Vasquez and Nickelodeon. Superhero trademark DC and Marvel.

* * *

There was a long stretch of silence as the seven heroes-in-training stared at the Yugopotamian prince, the one who had kidnapped them and mocked on how they'd spend the rest of their lives serving him and his people. Now, suddenly, he was not only going to save their lives, but actually wanted to leave his people and join them on Earth. Naturally, there was a response to this.

"It's a trick!" AJ accused. As he said this, he tried to sit up, which proved difficult without his chair to support him.

Hearing this, Mark arched an eyebrow. "And what, Earth creature, could my trick possibly accomplish? Out mighty alien army already has you totally captured and you are mere moments away from being beheaded on intergalactic television."

"He has a point," Princess noted as her secret boyfriend tried to find an answer. "He couldn't get anything from letting us go."

Wonder Gal thought for a moment. "Maybe, but that still doesn't answer the big question. Why do you even want to come with us?"

Mark Chang, usually big and expressive, was for once silent. He shifted a bit nervously, unsure of how to put this. "Well…"

"He wants to be a spy!" AJ suddenly answered, earning everyone's attention.

"What?" was the answer he got not only from the one he was accusing, but from his classmates as well.

"Think about it. We must be fighting back this invasion. These guys are about to lose. They need to fall back, but they're not completely abandoning Earth. They want their prince here to spy and gather information about the superheroes. That way, the next time they invade, they'll be able to totally waste us!"

It had been only a wild guess on the boy genius's part, but it quickly gained support.

"Hey, yeah!" Princess agreed.

"That has to be it," Sparky joined.

"No it's not," Mark said angrily. "I no longer wish to rule over your world."

"Then why? Why help us?" AJ demanded.

"For centuries my people have been a warrior race, one of the most feared in the galaxy. Still, through all our ruthlessness we maintained a code of honor that we stuck to no matter what. I freed you all after you defeated me in death combat because of that. But ever since we entered the Vooras Alliance, the other races have been trying to stomp our tradition out of us."

"…Are you saying that you are freeing us because you believe your allies are far too evil?" Sonic asked, as surprised as everyone else.

Mark sighed, drooping down a bit, speaking with a twinge of sadness in his voice. "The Bodacians have a reputation for being ruthless, but they're nothing compared to the Irkens. They've conquered entire galaxies, wiped out entire races, and whoever doesn't get destroyed becomes enslaved. They once took a planet known for its natural beauty and reformatted it into a food court. They have no respect for anything. My parents believe our alliance will make us strong, but I have realized the truth. They will use us as long as they can, then they'll turn on us, not just the Yugopotamians, but on all their allies."

With that, Mark clenched his tentacles, putting on a determined face. "I cannot allow that to happen, but there is little I can do here. You must allow me to accompany you to Earth, so that I may wait and plan for the best time to free my people."

"Oh, what, so they can go back to conquering planets on their own?" AJ accused. "You really think…"

Wonder Gal suddenly grabbed him, stopping his shouting. "Give us a minute," she told Mark, then she motioned for her classmates to join her. A few seconds later they were huddled together.

"Well, what do you guys think?" she asked.

"I think I've been pretty clear. We can't trust this guy! Tell him no!" AJ said.

"Yeah," Princess agreed, "it does seem a little stupid to trust someone who abducted and tried to kill us."

"Yeah, but if we don't we'll get our heads cut off," Sparky pointed out.

Muncher Lad nodded. "Even if this is a trick, it can't be worse than getting killed."

"Yes it can," Fatale shook her head. "If we help him get to Earth and he does turn out to be a spy, we'll be the ones who handed the world to him on a silver platter."

"But we do not seem to have much of a choice in the matter," Sonic pointed out. "Even if we refuse, and AJ's theory turns out to be correct, then they will surely try to put in a spy anyway. If they succeed, there will be no one to keep an eye on him."

All of the kids turned to Wonder Gal. "Looks like you're the tiebreaker," AJ said. "What do you think?"

The super strong heroine thought for a minute. "We should take it. It's a deal with the devil, but it's a devil we know. If this does turn out to be a trick, we'll be ready to deal with it. Until then, we should focus on getting out of here."

Those opposed to the plan groaned, but only AJ voiced his complaint. "Fine, but remember that this wasn't my idea."

With that, the group dispensed, turning back to the Yugopotamian prince. "Mark, you have yourself a deal," Wonder Gal said.

"Excellent!" Mark said, waving his tentacles in celebration. "Okay, dudes, here's my plan. In about thirty of your Earth minutes some guards will come in, restrain you, and begin to lead you to the execution chamber. However, I shall be watching, and while they are leading you down the hallways I will cause the energy bands to vanish. You then have to take out the guards quick. If I have timed this correctly, you will be in front of the room where your possessions are. Gather them up, and then meet me in the same hallway where you used the escape pod. I shall be waiting with another to take us to Earth."

"Hey, what about Dib?" Sparky asked.

Mark looked puzzled for a moment before he realized what he meant. "The other Earth child? Do not worry; he will be escorted with you. You will all be freed at the same time."

* * *

Dib sat in his cell, for once completely lost. How could this happen? He had always taken good care of his sister, hadn't he? Always looked out for her, made sure she was making it through the tough times they had to face, hadn't he?

He sighed, trying in vain again to break free of the restraints his mutated sister had put him in. He had been so good to his sister, how could this have happened?

He thought back, as far back as he could remember. He faintly remembered his mother, only faintly. He remembered her being sweet and kind, the only point of happiness he had in an otherwise bleak life. He smiled warmly, a tear running down his cheek as he remembered a soft voice singing him to sleep. It was bliss.

And then she was gone. He remembered asking his father where she was when he was only three, only to get the coldest answer possible.

"She's gone son, dead. She's not coming back. You best forget about her."

Around the same time his father gave him this curt response, he also noticed he was spending far less time with him and his sister. Before he had been busy, but always made time to spend with his children. After the death of his beloved wife, however, they were lucky to see their father once a month. He left them mostly with a nanny, but unfortunately he didn't research one very well, and as a result they got a woman who was often downing pills to the point that she scarcely realized where she was half the time.

As a result, Dib had to learn to take care of himself and, by extension, his sister. It was difficult, but since their father at least made sure that food was delivered and bills were paid, they managed to get through it.

Still, he always longed for a father's love, which is why he remembered the event that happened when he was only six.

He was returning home from getting groceries (something the caretaker never did, despite it being one of her jobs) he decided to take a shortcut through an alleyway. Of course, unsavory things have a habit of happening in such places, and the young boy was treated to his first sight of an alien, in this case an Irken, as they'd apparently been scouting Earth years in advance.

But this Irken, whoever he was, didn't see him. He was too busy fighting another being, a human. He was cloaked by darkness, his features completely hidden by the heavy black cloak he wore, but he was successful in driving the creature away. Then he noticed the small boy watching with frightened awe.

For a moment the two stared at each other. Then, calmly, the man began walking away, motioning for Dib to follow him. While unsure at first, the scientific curiosity he had inherited from his father won out over common sense, and he followed.

That man was a member of the Swollen Eyeball Network, the splinter cell of Skyway Patrol and the Guys in White that he had heard so much about. At that point, he believed the face that had been put on them, that they were nothing but terrorists and traitors, selling their country out to aliens and villains. When he was brought to their base (which, to this day, he didn't know the location of, since the agent brought him there blindfolded) they told him that, since he had seen an agent in action, he could either join their organization or have his memory wiped.

He agreed, because he realized his opportunity. He could learn the truth about the organization and expose them. He'd make his dad so proud.

But that started changing, thanks to one agent. He only knew him by his codename, Agent Darkbooty, and he was constantly surprised by him. At first glance he was harmless, a gaunt old man with wild eyes, a bald head with grey hair on the sides, and several wrinkles across his face. But appearances, as Dib quickly learned, were deceiving. He was agile, strong, and very sharp. As high ranking as he was, he trained Dib personally, because he saw the potential. He saw a potential top agent, and as such took great care in teaching him combat, computer hacking, and everything the Network knew about the aliens and heroes they secretly assisted.

Dib, having lacked any paternal figure since his mother died, began to grow attached, and now just to him. Everyone in the Network treated him like he belonged, a feeling he had forgotten.

His loyalty to the Network only strengthened when he began going on field missions. He heard Guys in White members mumbling about how they couldn't wait for the superheroes to slip up so they could get rid of them, he saw Skyway Patrol capture alien ships whose only crime was getting lost and wandering too close to Earth and he saw them both abuse their power to forward their own prejudice. He was disgusted. He abandoned his original plan and began fully devoting himself to SEN's cause.

It was around this point, however, that he realized a problem with his duties. They were seriously starting to cut into the time he should have been watching out for Gaz. Having no one to talk to or support her, she turned to video games, indulging in them at all times to escape her bitter loneliness. She felt like she had lost her family.

Dib came up with an obvious solution: initiate her into SEN. She could become part of the same family he had.

However, there were complications. While the Network was willing to have her, Gaz was defiant, not wanting to be part of the organization that had taken her brother from her. It was at that point that Dib made one of the worst decisions of his life. He tried forcing the training on her anyway. She needed a family, and he figured she would thank him later.

Gaz's protests continued during the early days of her training, but it was soon replaced by reluctant compliancy when she realized she had no choice. Her brother hoped that, soon, she would see what a great thing he had done for her.

But he has miscalculated. Gaz now hated him enough to turn on him. She blamed SEN for everything. She hated Dib for abandoning her. And she especially hated…

Dib's thoughts were interrupted when the door on the other side of the bars opened, and two Yugopotamians slid in.

"It's time, human."

* * *

The next minute saw Dib being escorted down the hallways by the two guards. He quickly joined his allies, now restrained once more, as they were led by six guards, quickly leading their prisoners to their deaths.

The heroes-in-training glanced at each other, all of them tense for the moment that their unlikely ally had promised. When Wonder Gal looked at Dib, however, he saw the lost look in his eyes. He stared at the floor, his no-nonsense attitude all but gone. Everyone knew why.

Most of the class was conscious after losing the battle with Zim. As such, they knew the situation with Gaz. They were aware, thanks to Zim's gloating, how she had betrayed Earth and become half-Irken. It was no wonder he wasn't his usual self.

Anything they could have said to comfort him, however, was blocked by the no talking rule the guards had them under. Any noise would have resulted in them getting struck. Being restrained, there was little they could do.

Until the bands suddenly disappeared.

Wasting no time, every hero launched an attack. The guards, caught completely off guard, did little to defend themselves. Within seconds the troops were down and out.

True to Mark's word they had been released right in front of a door, which seemed to slide open at that moment. "Quick, in here," Wonder Gal said, who at that moment had an unusual urge to state the obvious. Quickly scooping up AJ, the small group dashed into the room.

No sooner had they set foot in the room than the ship's alarms started blaring, with a mechanical voice announcing, "Prisoners have escaped! All units to Sector V!"

"Crud!" AJ muttered as Wonder Gal tossed him into his chair. "They must have had some security cams on us."

"Then we better hurry," Wonder Gal noted, snapping on her wristbands. She glanced over at Dib, who was slipping on his gauntlets, still with the depressed look in his eyes. "Are you alright? I mean, I know what happened…"

"I'll be fine," the SEN agent said. "I really don't have time to be upset. I can't save my sister if I can't save myself."

"Speaking of saving ourselves," Muncher Lad interrupted, "we better hurry before…"

"I show up?" a voice interrupted.

In an instant, the group turned toward the door. Zim was there, entering on foot before deploying his spider legs, rising above his opponents. He looked visibly angry, much to the worry of the heroes.

"I don't how you Earth-maggots escaped my cell of doom, but I will personally make sure this ship will be your final resting place!"


	11. Invaded III: Escape

A/N: Wow…this is late. Man, I promised I would update once a week for a New Year's Resolution…I'll do better from now on.

And if you believed that, there is no hope for you.

Disclaimer: Fairly Oddparents copyright Nickelodeon, Viacom, Federator, Billionfold, and Butch Hartman. Invader Zim copyright Johnen Vasquez, Viacom, and Nickelodeon.

* * *

Zim's villainous taunt gave Sparky enough time and incentive to fire a bolt of lightning directly at the Irken. Unfortunately he proved to be too quick for such an attack. Using his spider legs he leapt forward, dodging the bolt and striking the living generator with one of the metal appendages.

Seeing his roommate under attack, Sonic tried to unleash a sonic scream, but Zim was once again aware of an oncoming attack, and used another leg to slam him against the metal wall, effectively knocking the air out of him.

This, however, provided a brief opening that both Dib and Wonder Gal took advantage of. They both ran in past the appendages that kept their enemy up in the air and attempted to strike Zim with their fists. Seeing this, the invader brought two more metal prongs out of his backpack, shorter so they only arched over his shoulder. In an instant they both began firing lasers at the two heroes, forcing them to dodge. Still, they kept coming, and Zim began to maneuver, moving himself and the legs to avoid being hit.

This led to the unexpected side effect of Sonic being released, leaving the Indian hero to catch his breath. As this was happening, AJ, Princess, and Muncher Lad decided to take the opportunity to fire their projectiles at him. They rained Zim with mind blasts, ice, and pieces of shrapnel from the several steel crates in the room. Still, it seemed their opponent had more than two eyes. The legs nearest to the path came up and blocked the attacks, the constant barrage doing nothing to visibly damage the metallic weapons.

Fatale decided on a different method. Hoping Zim was distracted enough by everyone else, she ran toward him. When she was close enough, she leapt up, hoping to slice her claws through his pak. Sadly, Irken technology seemed to have a mind of its own, because as soon as she got close enough another prong came up, blasting her out of the air.

For that moment, it seemed like Zim was untouchable. Then, Princess got an idea. As Zim shifted one of his mechanical legs, the blonde fired a blast of ice not at Zim, but at the floor where the leg was to land.

It had the intended effect. Not expecting the lesser traction, the leg slipped out from under its master. While it took only a second for the invader to correct himself, that was all the distraction that was needed for Wonder Gal to get in and deliver the necessary punch to send Zim back. The Irken crashed into the wall farthest from the doorway out.

Dib tried to follow up the attack, but Wonder Gal stopped him. "No! Forget him, let's get to the escape pod, we need to get out of here!"

There was no vocal objection to this. In a flash the eight warriors were out the door, desperately hoping that they'd remember the way back to the escape pods.

Unfortunately, it didn't take long for Zim to recover. In an instant he was through the doorway, his spider legs still keeping him in the air, and dashing down the corridors.

"You filthy Earth worms! Get back here and be destroyed!"

Zim was incredibly fast, so the heroes-in-training didn't get far enough ahead to avoid any further attacks. From the prongs over his shoulders, the Irken fired toward the fleeing group. AJ was quick enough to put up a mind shield to cover the rear, but his visible cringing made it clear he couldn't block forever.

"Lower the shield," Princess told her secret boyfriend, glancing back. AJ was confused, but quickly realized what she was planning. As soon as the shield was dropped, she unleashed a beam of ice. Zim, seeing it coming, had plenty of time to dodge, but it served its purpose of at least slowing him down a bit. Seeing this, Sparky began firing was well. None of the attacks hit their target, but the constant dodging allowed them to get a lead.

While Zim was running to catch up from behind, several Yugopotamians were attacking up front, pouring down the hallways in an attempt to recapture their prisoners of war. Sonic responded by flying above his friends and unleashing a sonic scream through the hallway, causing every guard in front of him to hear the ear shattering sound. Not being as well trained as their prince, the guards were stunned, allowing Wonder Gal, Fatale, and Dib to make quick work of them. The group barely had to stop moving, as they charged through the fallen army, with Zim right behind them, stepping over his fallen lackeys.

"Humans! How dare you not want to die a horrible death at my hands! You will suffer!"

This was answered with a beam of ice, which the Irken dodged. "Do you ever shut up?" Princess snarked.

At that point, the group was coming to a t-shaped split in the hallway. "Turn right!" Wonder Gal yelled at the front of the pack. The rest of the small army complied, shifting into a new corridor.

They ended up having to screech to a halt, due to a very unfortunate obstacle.

Gaz was there, standing on her spider legs and looking very smug. "Now, now Dib, did you really think it would be that easy?"

At that point, Zim finally caught up, and was now walking slow and menacingly. "Uh, finally. How dare you make me waste my powerful Irken superiority chasing little worms like you! It is a disgrace…"

As the Invader rambled on, the group backed into the wall, with every member of the group trying to find a way out. AJ, who was closest to the wall, was the one who found the answer. Calmly he whispered aside to Muncher Lad. "How fast can you chomp through the wall?"

"I don't know, it depends on what it's made of."

"Well, start chewing. We need another way out of here." With that, AJ turned his attention back to the still ranting Zim. Having grown tired of hearing his opponent talk, he decided to end the speech with a mind blast to the gut.

Sadly, even when feeding his over inflated ego, Zim didn't let his guard down. He blocked the blast with one of his spider legs, which was only looking slightly worn from the abuse it had taken that day. "Fool! How dare you interrupt the almighty Zim as he expresses his disgust!"

"Please, I'm getting tired of hearing you talk," AJ rolled his eyes. "You sound like some kind of angry beaver or something."

With this little interlude everyone else saw what Muncher Lad was attempting to do, so they instantly sprung into battle, hoping the two villains wouldn't notice.

Nearly a year ago, when the class first learned of Vicky's existence, Muncher Lad had to eat his way out of the Academy's dorm building. Since they were built to withstand a villain attack, it had been a very unpleasant experience to chew his way through such hard metal.

So it was an unpleasant surprise to find this metal was slightly harder. Since his strength had risen thanks to a year of training, it wasn't enough to stop him, but it still was going to take time.

Sadly, that didn't seem like a luxury the group had. The rush attacks on both enemies had proven disastrous. One of the first things that happened was Wonder Gal running in and attempting to punch Zim. On a human this might have worked, but Irkens had generally faster reflexes than the species they were attempting to conquer. The only reward the raven-haired heroine received was a spider leg to the chest, which sent her flying into AJ before he had a chance to fire another mind blast.

Following that both Sparky and Sonic tried following up with attacks of their own. Sonic's scream actually seemed to have the affect of temporarily stunning Zim, but when Sparky tried to follow up on this attack his bolt was blocked. Not allowing his enemies a chance to try again, the Irken struck forward, attempting to skewer Sonic with one of his legs. Sonic flew upward and inhaled to attack again, but Zim responded by lifting himself up on his rear legs and allowing his two front ones to act as weapons, hoping to impale both his targets. The Indian hero was forced to abandon his attack to dodge, and Sparky also found no opening to attack.

Finally, after several dodges, Sparky took a chance and threw a bolt at Zim. The invader managed to dodge, but he proved slower on two legs than on four. This gave Sonic enough of an opening to unleash a scream. It hit its target and ended up with the desired effect. With the actual disorientation lasted only moments for Zim, he now lacked the equilibrium that four legs provided. He was knocked onto his back, for a moment unable to defend himself.

Hoping that was all the time needed, the heroes acted. Wonder Gal and AJ, now recovered, joined the pair in charging forward, hoping to take Zim out for good.

Unfortunately, the Irken had good recovery. With a very impressive jump he was back on his natural feet, with four spider legs available. He used all four to lash out, striking his opponents and pinning them against the walls, Wonder Gal and AJ on the left, Sonic and Sparky on the right.

And Zim could only laugh.

Meanwhile, Dib, Fatale, and Princess were trying their luck with Gaz. Dib had chosen to face her sister with a hope of talking her out of the path she had put herself on, while the others had simply closer to Gaz that to Zim.

Dib ran forward attempting to deliver a punch, but Gaz blocked with one of her spider legs. For a few moments the two pushed against each other, hoping to gain an advantage over the other.

"Come on, Gaz, think about this," her brother pleaded. "Is this really what you want, to turn your back on everything?"

"Umm…yeah, it is," Gaz returned sarcastically. She unexpectedly lifted her leg up, meaning Dib was now leaning against nothing. He tried desperately to regain his balance, stumbling forward, before his sister brought the mechanical limb down onto her brother, slamming him into the floor.

Fatale jumped in, hoping Gaz's attention was focused enough on her brother that he wouldn't see her coming. That proved incorrect when another leg connected with her in midair, slamming her into the wall. Unfortunately, she also hit her head on said wall. When the leg released her, she fell to the ground, if not unconscious than certainly dazed.

The reason the leg released her was because at that moment Princess began firing icicles at Gaz, forcing her to dodge. Unlike Zim, who had likely been trained to use his spider legs since birth, Gaz still hadn't learned to fully maneuver on her legs. As such she required all four to dodge as quickly as Zim could on two.

The tow-headed heroine continued firing shots, which Gaz, showing agility, dodged successfully. Finally, she brought one of her front legs up and thrust it forward. Princess rolled to one side and prepared to fire a beam, but her purple-haired enemy used her other leg to bat her aside, sending her flying into the wall.

Giving a malicious smile, she lifted one of the legs up, planning to impale the blonde. However, as she thrust the leg forward it was intercepted by Dib, who grabbed the weapon and forced it downward. This threw Gaz off her balance, causing her to stumble a bit. She recovered quickly though and swung the leg her brother was holding on to, slamming him into the opposite wall from Princess.

"You know, for a group of heroes that took down the Nega-Chin a few months ago, you guys are really bad at this whole hero thing," she gloated.

And then she heard it. "Guys, I made it through!"

It was at that point that Gaz finally noticed that Muncher Lad was chewing his way through the wall. Rather, he had already eaten his way through the wall.

"No!" she yelled, running toward him.

This turned out to be a mistake. It caused her to let her guard down. Fatale, who had only been stunned and not knocked out, took advantage of this by leaping onto her back and sinking all her claws into her PAK.

The instant result was that sparks began flying out, and the legs began to shake, giving the impression they were failing. "Hey, what? Stop!" Gaz yelled as she began to fall.

Princess, also recovered, quickly assessed the situation. While always a bit of a ditz, at that moment she got an idea. Acting quickly, she shot a beam at the floor, icing a path from Gaz to where Zim still stood, laughing maniacally at his victory.

Seeing this, Fatale removed her claws and jumped from Gaz's back, but not before giving her one final kick, sending her forward.

The end result was her hitting the icy path and sliding forward, straight toward her fellow invader. It was at that point that Zim finally stopped laughing and noticed what was happening.

"Uh-oh."

That was all the Irken could get out before Gaz crashed into him, sending them both to the ground and freeing Zim's four captives.

After spending just a moment catching his breath, Sparky turned toward the pair and fired a bolt. It hit the two dead on, sending several volts through both of their bodies. After five seconds he stopped, leaving the two smoking and, hopefully, unconscious.

"Come on, let's hurry," Wonder Gal ordered. "We don't want to take the chance they're not finished."

No one needed to be told that…except one. While the group rushed toward the hole, Dib stood watching his fallen sister with a look of regret.

AJ noticed this. "Dib, come on, let's get out of here!"

The SEN agent didn't move.

"Dib, you're not going to do your sister any good by staying here. You're just going to get yourself killed."

Dib sighed, looking down. "I know…but that doesn't make things any easier." With that he turned around to go through the hole.

As they did, Zim began to recover, but at that moment his PAK began flashing. Annoyed, he pulled out the communicator. "What? This better be important!"

"Sir, are forces are being decimated! Our fleet is down to twenty five percent!" a voice came out.

"_**What!**_" the Invader yelled angrily. "Well, how much do they have left?"

"By our estimates, they still have over seventy five percent. We have greatly underestimated the abilities of these heroes."

Zim could not hide his displeasure. Still, he knew it would be foolish to continue under these circumstances. "Fine! Begin pulling back! We will live to fight another day."

* * *

The hole Muncher Lad had created led to another storage room. Fortunately, it was in the same hallway that the escape pods were in. Upon exiting they found the same row of rooms, where Mark was waiting in one.

"About time," the prince said as the group entered. "What kept you?"

"Zim and Gaz weren't too willing to let us leave," Wonder Gal explained.

"Whatever," he noted as he closed the door. He turned to pilot the pod back to Earth.

At that point, Wonder Gal noticed Dib looking at Mark with slack jawed shock.

"Oh yeah, I guess we forgot to mention, he's on our side now."

* * *

"Oh Mark," Princess Mandie yelled as she entered their bedroom. "We have to retreat; we need you on the bridge." She scanned the room, hoping to see her fiancée. "Ma-" she began to call again, but stopped when she noticed something on their bed.

It was what appeared to be a small metal card, chrome like everything else the Yugopotamians made. Its only feature was a small red orb resting in the center.

Mandie picked it up. Knowing full well what it was, she pressed the orb in the center. Seconds later, it projected a hologram of the prince of Yugopotamia.

"Hideous Princess Mandie…" the prerecorded message began.

* * *

The group, now with Mark, walked down the stairway into the bunker. Their new ally was carrying what appeared to be a large metal suitcase. According to its owner it held weapons he had taken off the ship. Since he was likely to spend his time on Earth with the very heroes he had previously tormented, he had decided to come prepared.

Once they got to the bottom, they saw their out of commission leader Cleft, still injured but apparently functional enough to get out of bed and pour himself a glass of water.

"Timmy!" Wonder Gal yelled happily, running over to him and giving him a hug. "Sorry we've been gone so long, but we were abducted again, and…"

The raven haired heroine trailed off when she noticed something: he wasn't hugging back. She pulled back and saw he was frozen with shock. He hadn't even moved the large container of water he was pouring into a smaller cup. He had long since run over, causing water to soak the counter.

Then it hit her. It was the same problem with Dib.

"…Did I miss something?"

* * *

"Those filthy stinky humans with their filthy…humanness! They will rue the day they dared to defeat the almighty Zim!"

"Yeah Zim," Gaz muttered, "How dare they not want to be enslaved."

"Exactly! All races in the universe must bow before our might!" Zim rambled, completely missing his comrade's sarcasm.

Still licking their wounds from their defeat against the class, the pair was sitting on the bridge, overseeing the crew piloting it back to Yugopotamia. Gir and Minimoose were sitting off to the side, doing nothing productive as usual. Mandie sat in another seat, holding Mark's message, just staring at it blankly.

"Still, this is just a setback. Soon we will strike with everything our mighty alliance can provide!"

"Soon I'll make a kite out of squirrels and fly it to the moon!" Gir yelled.

"…I can't believe Mark left us like that," Mandie said at last, still looking at the message.

"Oh, that filthy traitor!" the Irken said through clenched teeth. "Mark will pay for this! Him and his filthy head!"

"Filthy head?" Gaz questioned. "What the heck does that mean?"

"Never mind! That Dib-beast and all the others think they have succeeded in thwarting Zim? They merely delayed the inevitable. Soon enough, this miserable little mudball and all like it will either bow to the alliance, or be destroyed."

* * *

A mere hour after they had escaped from the ship, the heroes-in-training were finally checked up on by the teachers. Naturally, they were surprised to find a member of the species they had just defeated among them. Mark and the others were taken in and questioned by Skyway Patrol. They told the truth, except the detail of Mark being prince was changed to him being a mere pilot who grew sick of his people's bloodshed. Everyone stuck by this story, even those reluctant like AJ. They figured he was probably more likely to be pardoned if they were unaware he was a commanding officer.

Throughout the interrogation, it became obvious that they wanted to lock him away, but the heroes' knowledge of him made it difficult to keep such a thing under the radar. Eventually they agreed to pardon him and put him in the custody of the Academy, where he would attend as a student.

Finally, they were allowed to go back to the dorms, which had been remarkably untouched in all the destruction. Now they were in the same place they had been nearly three days ago, sitting in the living room of the dorm Cleft, AJ, and Muncher Lad shared.

"Uh, thank goodness that's over," AJ said, slumping in his floating chair.

"I'll say," Muncher Lad concurred.

"Right," Dib said. "I guess I'll see you guys later." With that, the SEN agent began walking toward the door.

"Wait, you're leaving?" Wonder Gal asked. "Just like that?"

"Sorry, guy. It's been fun fighting off aliens, but I have to report to my superiors about this. Plus, my sister is still with them, I need to find some way to get her back home."

"You know, you might not convince her to leave the Alliance," AJ pointed out rather bluntly. This earned him a glare from Princess, but Dib paid it no mind.

"I know, but I've got to try. It'll drive me crazy not doing anything. I promise I'll visit the next time SEN business brings me here. Until then, keep training. That probably wasn't the last we'll see of Zim. See ya."

With that he abruptly walked out of the room, only faintly listening to the goodbyes from the others.

Once he had left, Princess smacked AJ in the arm. "Ow! Hey, what was that for?"

"You could have been a little more subtle," his girlfriend snapped.

"This isn't what we should be discussing," Sonic interrupted.

"Sanjay's right, we really should start worrying about how to deal find Crocktopus," Cleft pointed out.

"Who is this Crocktopus of which you speak?" Mark asked.

"Super villain, someone who's after us. We'll probably meet him soon enough," Cleft answered.

"Hey, now that we got Mark's weapons, we could probably handle Crocktopus easily," Sparky thought, a grin covering his face.

"Sorry little Earth dude," the alien said, putting up his tentacles, "but I am not sure if my weapons are compatible with your technology. If there is no way to recreate ammo for my weapons, then we should save them for a time it would really be needed."

"AJ, look over his weapons and see if they can be recreated," Cleft ordered.

The boy genius grumbled slightly at the order, but obeyed, floating over to his former enemy. Mark politely offered the case, which AJ snatched rather curtly. "It'll probably be a week until I can properly analyze everything."

"No hurry, just get it done," Cleft brushed off, earning a scowl from AJ.

"So what do we do about Crocktopus?" Fatale quipped.

"For now? We'll just wait," their leader said, sitting on the couch with his remote in hand. "I'm sure we'll deal with him soon enough."

* * *

"Blast!" Crocktopus yelled, slamming his fist on the control panel as he read the results on the screen. "This Yugopotamian DNA Vicky brought us has nothing we can use." He then sighed, turning to Dr. Bender. "Just file it away would you? I might find a use for it someday."

"No problem, Doc," Bender complied, pressing some buttons on his panel. "I'm guessing this doesn't change our overall plan much."

"Of course not. This is a mere setback. That invasion only set us back a week. In a matter of time, I'll complete my ultimate creation. Then those children will regret ever getting in our way!"


	12. Crocktopus Rising: Stranger

A/N: Well, here you go.

Disclaimer: Fairly Oddparents copyright Nickelodeon, Federator, and Viacom, created by Butch Hartman. Superhero trademark DC and Marvel.

* * *

The next morning the nine heroes-in-training decided to have breakfast together to celebrate their victory. Which lead to them sitting around the table in Cleft's dorm room, waiting for Cleft and AJ to get the milk to add to their cereal. Until then, they were munching on some toast, and Mark was getting his first taste of Earth food.

"Forgive me for saying this, but your Earth food doesn't have that same taste of my home planet."

"Well excuse us," Princess said sarcastically, rolling her blue eyes, "if we don't make things exactly the way you want it."

"Hey, chill, dudette," the exiled prince said, holding up his tentacles. "I just meant…"

"Aw, man. Hey!" AJ shouted. "Who left this carton of milk in the fridge over summer?"

"Oops. Uh, my bad," Muncher Lad admitted sheepishly, looking around his oversized stack of toast. "Must have forgot it."

AJ opened the carton in his hand, which he instantly regretted, since it emitted such a foul odor. Instantly he held it as far away as possible, holding his nose with his free hand. The smell drifted over to the table, causing most of the diners to cringe.

The key word being most.

"What is that marvelously hideous smell?" Mark inquired, turning his head toward AJ.

"It's this milk. I better throw it away," the boy genius answered.

"Are you mad?" the Yugopotamian exclaimed, rising from his seat and slithering over toward him. In a flash he snatched the carton away. "Why throw out something so clearly rotten?" Without another word, he threw the entire carton in his mouth, shocking his allies. He chewed as chunks of milk oozed out of his mouth.

"I think I just lost my appetite," Muncher Lad noted, sliding the pile of toast away.

"Me too," Sparky added, doing the same with his food.

"Wait, mine came back!" Muncher Lad said, grabbing Fatale's abandoned plate and gulping it down with one bite.

"Ew, that's disgusting!" AJ exclaimed. "I was gonna throw that in the garbage can!"

"You have a whole can of stuff like this?" Mark asked excitedly. "Where?"

"Um, over there," the boy genius answered, a little freaked out.

In a flash the alien was where his comrade had pointed, picking up the small wastebasket. "You humans are awesome, having whole cans of this stuff!" With that, he downed the container's contents.

Most of the class responded by shoving their meals toward Muncher Lad, who happily ate.

"Mark, you seriously need to learn Earth manners," their leader said.

"What, this isn't acceptable?" Mark asked with his mouth full.

"No…look, I'll explain later. Well, completely destroyed appetites aside, class has been preempted for another week. What do you guys want to do?" Cleft asked.

"Good question," Wonder Gal asked. "I doubt anything's open, with all the damage. It's a miracle we still have power."

"Yes, and I simply do not feel like training after everything that has occurred," Sonic noted, striking his favorite past time off the activities list.

"Looks like it's movie marathon time!" Princess noted, standing up to take her now-empty plate (courtesy of Muncher Lad) to the sink.

"Sounds good," Cleft agreed. "Everyone get a movie and meet in the living room. Me and Trixie will get snacks. Mark…just wait in the living room."

"Can do," the former prince quipped, wiping his mouth with his tentacle.

* * *

Meanwhile, outside the dorm, Super Principal and Catman met on the sidewalk, under the shade of a nearby tree. Every other superhero had been called out to outside towns, hoping to get the wreckage from the invasion under control, leaving the pair to patrol Dimmsdale alone.

"What's the status?" Principal asked.

"Well, good news is the Dimmsdale police should be back at full force tomorrow. That means we can relax soon."

"Yeah, well, we better check around town again. The villains are bound to use the opportunity to try and loot the city."

With that, the two heroes left, leaving the street empty.

Or so they thought.

A moment later, something very unusual happened. From the shade of the tree, its shadow began to move, not because the tree moved, it moved on its own. Soon the shadow, which did not belong to the tree, detached from the ground and began gliding across the ground, slithering up to the dorm. It paused for only a moment before squeezing under the door and into the building.

* * *

At that moment, the movie had started. As the opening for T2: Judgment Day flashed on the screen, the group sat around, passing snacks to one another. Sonic tore open a pack of Skittles and poured some into his palm before downing them. He glanced over at Mark, who was listening to Muncher Lad quickly summarize the first movie for him. Like everyone else he was a bit uneasy about their new ally, but his politeness got to him. "Would you like some?"

"That would be most excellent," the alien answered, holding out his tentacle. Sonic shook the bag, spilling a few pieces onto the waiting appendage.

Suddenly the Yugopotamian screamed in pain, dropping the colored candies to the ground and clutching his tentacle in pain. Needless to say, this caught the attention of the others.

"What happened?" Cleft asked, untangling himself from his girlfriend and rising.

"Oh, the pain!" Mark yelled. "It is like my tentacle has been bathed in a thousand vats of acid!"

"Oh, quit exaggerating," AJ rolled his eyes, "it can't be that…whoa."

AJ's choice of words came from the fact that the boy genius could now see Mark's injuries clearly. His tentacles, as unlikely as it might have seemed, were now covered in round burn marks, and they seemed to go quite deep into his skin.

"What happened?" Wonder Gal asked.

"I only offered him some of my sugary confections," Sonic explained.

"That stuff had sugar? How can you humans eat that stuff?" the Yugopotamian asked, horrified.

"What do you mean? It's delicious!" Princess said.

"Not to me! To Yugopotamians, sugar is among the deadliest substances found on our planet."

Hearing this, AJ put on a malicious smile. Slyly, he took the bag of candy from Sonic. "Aw, but it's so good," he snarked, tipping the bag over his head and allowing the colored candies to fall into his mouth. What would have been an ordinary display absolutely terrified the exiled prince.

"AJ, stop," Cleft commanded. "Mark, there's a first aid kit in my room, you can use it to bandage your hand. Chester, show him where it is. AJ, kitchen. We need to talk." With that, he grabbed the boy genius by the arm and pulled him into the kitchen, away from the others.

"That was uncalled for," he said bluntly.

"What do you mean?" AJ asked.

"Downing that candy in front of Mark, knowing it would freak him out like that."

"He didn't seem to care too much that eating garbage freaked us out," the boy genius pointed out, folding his arms.

"He just doesn't know about Earth customs yet, and I'll talk to him about that. You did it just to freak him out!" he answered, pointing an accusing finger at him.

"Timmy, in case you've forgotten, this guy was trying to take over the world a few days ago," AJ said through gritted teeth. "He abducted us and shot thousands of volts through us for fun! Why are we treating him to a movie and snacks?"

"Gee, I don't know," Cleft answered in fake thought. "Maybe because he left everything behind to help you guys escape."

"Don't you see what's going on? He's a spy! They knew they were going to lose the invasion, so they had him go undercover!"

"Wow AJ, that's really well thought out," he said sarcastically, "except from what you've told me, Dib's sister betrayed him, didn't she?"

"Yeah, so?" the scientist asked, folding his arms.

"Well then, what sense would it make sending the prince of the race that invaded us instead of a regular Earth girl that had connections to a secret organization that wouldn't have drawn any attention to herself?"

AJ opened his mouth to give his response, until he suddenly realized he had none. At least, not at first. "Well, maybe they thought their plan was so outrageous that no one would suspect it."

The moment those words left him, he realized how lame they sounded. Of course, Cleft commented on them. "Wow, for a genius you say stupid things."

"Well, look, there has to be something behind this!" AJ said desperately, pounding his armrests.

"Fine. Then bring me proof, good proof, when you figure it out. Until then, at least try to treat Mark with respect." With that, he turned back toward the living room.

AJ could only float there, gripping the armrests of his chair in anger. For the second time since the school year began, he was vetoed.

* * *

"Alright, hold still," Muncher Lad said, applying the bandage to Mark's tentacle. "Are you sure you don't want any burn cream?"

"That would probably be a bad idea, dude. There's no telling how your Earth medicine would affect Yugopotamian biology," the exiled prince pointed out.

"Yeah, good point, we don't want a repeat of the Skittles incident," the hero muttered as he finished applying the bandage.

"Yeah. I mean, seriously, how can you humans eat that stuff? On our planet we use that substance to execute war criminals."

"Well, it tastes great to us. Really, we can't see how you can eat garbage. Well, at least the others can't. I can eat anything," he said proudly, sticking out his chest.

"I'm aware. You bit through my tentacle, remember?" the alien reminded with a bit of a stern glare.

The hooded hero could only rub the back of his neck. "Oh, right. Sorry about that."

"No worries, my species is most adapt at healing. Even this burn should heal itself quickly," Mark assured, brushing the incident off.

"Well…that's good," Muncher Lad said awkwardly, not knowing how to continue this conversation. "Well…"

The conversation was interrupted by sounds coming from the other room. First, the sound of Princess giving a yell of surprise, followed by the sound of everyone moving around. Immediately the pair rushed out into the living room.

What they saw was a bit alarming. There was what appeared to be a large shadow moving across the floor. Everyone was already in a battle stance, ready to fight whatever it was. However, the shadow stopped moving. It then began to rise and take human form.

It finally formed into a girl in a black costume. She had black hair that was tied into a ponytail in the back, and fell down in front to cover her left eye. Her visible eye had a violet color to it. Her costume sported a Dracula-like cape which came down to her ankles. The rest of her outfit was pure black: black mask, black gloves, black belt, and black boots. Only the large E on her chest was distinguishable with its light-grey coloring. All in all, it contrasted with her pale-white skin.

"Who are you?" Cleft demanded.

Her words greatly surprised the group. "Someone who needs your help."

* * *

A/N: For those of you scratching your heads, the girl is Molly from the recent episode Wishing Well. For those of you who are detail-observing dorks, you may have noticed her hair is covering the wrong eye and her eye color is different. I'm taking a page from Amras Felagund and giving her heterochromia…you know, two eye colors? She changes the eye she covers for her civilian disguise. Her powers and identity are the creation of Amras as well.


	13. Crocktopus Rising: Minions

A/N: Well, here you go again.

Disclaimer: Fairly Oddparents copyright Nickelodeon, Federator, and Viacom, created by Butch Hartman. Superhero trademark DC and Marvel.

* * *

"My name is Ebony," the girl introduced, beginning her story. Naturally, the small group of heroes was a little unnerved by the fact that she had come in uninvited, but by Cleft's insistence they had agreed to listen to why she had sought them out.

"I was born with these shadow-warping powers, which is weird, since there's never been any superpowers on either side of my family. But anyway, I was going to begin attending a superhero academy this year, But unfortunately, someone named Dr. Crocktopus found out about me first."

"Crocktopus?" Cleft asked. "I knew it. I knew he'd still be active."

AJ rolled his eyes. "Yeah, way to figure out the obvious," he muttered sarcastically.

"Apparently, Crocktopus thought my powers could be useful to him. He came to me and offered to make me a powerful member of his organization. When I told him no, he kidnapped my parents. He told me if I didn't join him he'd kill them. I want to go rescue them, but I can't do it alone. I heard you guys have stopped him before, so I came to see if you'd help me."

"Why not get the adult heroes to help you?" Wonder Gal asked the obvious. "They could handle it better than us."

"They're all busy cleaning up from that alien invasion," the dark girl reminded, casting a subtle glare at Mark. "The one your people caused," she added bitterly.

"Hey, do not blame me," the Yugopotamian said defensively, "I was a mere pilot in a vast army. I had no say in it."

AJ gritted his teeth at the obvious lie, but remembered his promise to keep the cover story up.

"Whatever," Ebony muttered. "The point is, I have no one else to turn to. Please, you've got to help me."

Cleft, being who he was, had the answer immediately. "Everyone suit up. It looks like our day just got a whole lot more interesting."

"Excellent," Mark said, beginning to head toward his room with Sonic and Sparky. "I shall go and see which of the weapons I brought along can be of use."

Like Mark, the rest of the class began heading to their rooms. There was no complaint among the ranks, at least, not at first. Once Cleft, AJ, and Muncher Lad were in their rooms, putting on their uniforms, the boy genius spoke.

"Are we really going through with this?" AJ demanded.

Cleft arched an eyebrow as he loaded up on chin-a-rangs. "Why not? She needs help."

"She came in off the streets. How do we know she's not making this up?"

"Man, could you get any more paranoid?" Muncher Lad commented. "Nearly everyone we met this week you think is going to be a bad guy."

"Well our fearless leader seems to just trust anyone who walks up to us."

"Have I been wrong yet?" Cleft asked smugly.

"…No," AJ admitted grudgingly. "But the streak can't keep up. If you just trust everyone who walks up to you, sooner or later it's going to backfire."

"You may be right," his leader admitted, "but what if she's really telling the truth? We'd be abandoning her in her time of need."

"Look, you're getting too trusting," AJ said. "You need to stop this."

"Fine, stay behind if you want to," Cleft said as he finished attaching his utility Cleft. "The rest of us are going." With that he walked out of the room, with Muncher Lad following obediently.

AJ floated for a moment, contemplating the situation. Finally, he floated out the door, mumbling how he knew he was going to regret this.

* * *

A few minutes later the small group was outside the dorm room, surveying the wrecked city. Mark had opted to use a large steel hammer, similar to the axes his soldiers had used back when he was still royalty, only considerably less lethal, which he understood was a plus according to human ethics.

"So, where do we start?" Wonder Gal asked.

"Well," Ebony said, racking her brain, "if I remember right, my parents were taken to the desert outside of Dimmsdale. Maybe we could look there and…"

The dark girl's exposition was interrupted by a beam of energy coming out of nowhere and striking Wonder Gal in the side, causing her to go flying into Princess, who was right next to her, sending both girls to the ground.

"What the--?"

While Muncher Lad was coming to that conclusion, the class looked in the direction of the blast. What they saw were ten of Crocktopus's robots, the same kind the class had fought months before.

"Sorry, kiddies," one of the robots said in Bob's voice, "but that girl is due for an appointment with Dr. Crocktopus." With that, the front robot pointed one of his arms forward again, firing a laser out of it.

This one was headed straight for Sparky. Seeing this, Ebony formed her hark energy into what looked like a raven's claw and latched onto Sparky's arm, pulling him to safety and letting the blast fly past them.

"Ow!" the electric hero cried. When the dark girl let go, he noted the tear on the sleeve, and the cut underneath it. It was bleeding, but not seriously enough to worry. "Your claw scratched me."

"Sorry, that was an accident. Besides, better me than them." With that, Ebony summoned up a ball of dark energy and pitched it at the lead machine. The attack knocked the robot back, but it seemed to do no permanent damage. The other robots took aim, but by then the other heroes were reacting.

Fatale, always quick on her feet, charged forward, sinking her claws into the first robot she reached. Wonder Gal was next, second only because she needed time to recover from getting shot. She punched another robot, denting it. Still, the super strong heroine winced in pain, she had gotten stronger but the robot's shell was still hard enough to hurt her hand. Mark was next, swinging his hammer into the first not taken robot he reached. The rest fired from a distance with projectiles, striking a robot a piece with their attacks.

After the initial attack, Cleft pulled aside AJ. While the other kept the machines busy, the leader gave a quick order. "See if you can get some information out of the robot you fight."

"And how am I supposed to do that?" the boy genius asked.

"I don't know, do some techno stuff. That's your department."

"What, do you think I can just trace signals with my chair?"

"Well, can you?"

"…Yes," he admitted. "Fine, I'll see what I can do." With that, the pair jumped into the fray that their teammates were already deep in.

Muncher Lad bit down on his robot's wrist, pulling an arm off. It took him only seconds to munch it down into debris he could use as projectiles, which he used effectively. Still, to the gluttonous hero's horror, the arm grew back quickly, no doubt the result of the stolen nanobot technology at work again. Princess fired icicles at hers, which dented the machine's shell, but these dents straightened themselves out quickly. Sparky and Sonic launched their attacks as well, but if they affected their opponents, it wasn't by much.

AJ confronted a robot, firing a mind blast at his opponent. The robot was stunned for only a moment, but the boy genius took advantage of it by firing more blasts at it until, finally, it fell on the ground, its head leaving its shoulders, only connected by a few wires. AJ could see the nanobots already at work, so he acted fast. First, he gave a few blasts to the body as he pressed a few buttons on the chair's armrest, causing a few noises to come from his metallic mode of transportation. "Come on, I just need a few minutes with this thing nearby," he muttered. At that point he realized something. "This was too easy."

The others had noticed as well. By now the entire robot army was on the ground, trying to regenerate themselves with their technology, but they were essentially defenseless as long as the group of heroes stood over them.

"Okay, what's the deal?" Wonder Gal demanded, stomping the torso of the robot she had been fighting. "These guys went down way too easy."

"Yeah," Sparky concurred. "When we fought these guys a few months ago, they were hard to beat. This is too easy."

"Maybe you guys just got stronger," Ebony shrugged as she fired a shadow blast at her robot.

"Hey, yeah. Maybe fighting the Nega Chin beefed us up more than we thought," Muncher Lad thought, flexing his muscles with a smug smile.

"I don't think so," Cleft said, "We still won way too easy. I think something's up."

"You shouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth," Ebony said. "As long as we rescue my parents, I don't care how easy we win."

"I have a signal," AJ shouted as he floated toward the group. "My chair traced the signal that was controlling these things to the desert outside Dimmsdale."

"There's a desert outside Dimmsdale?" Muncher Lad asked.

"Yeah, it's where Trixie took that bomb during Bender's bomb plot, remember?" AJ reminded. "Why would that even be a surprise? This is California."

"Let's just go before these guys pull themselves back together," Wonder Gal said as she turned and began walking toward the desert.

However, she did so prematurely, because one of the robot arms reached up and grabbed a clawful of the heroine's hair and yanked vigorously. She screamed, more in surprise than in pain as the surprisingly strong arm pulled at her locks. Cleft, naturally, moved in to help his girlfriend, but Mark, who was closer, was who ultimately helped. One swing of his hammer turned the arm into scrap, but not before a large chunk of hair was ripped from Wonder Gal's scalp.

"Ow, ow!" the super strong heroine yelped, rubbing her scalp. "How much did it pull out? Man, my hair…"

"Oh, quit whining," Fatale snapped, "we got bigger things to worry about!"

"Tootie, you could be a little more sensitive!" Cleft snapped.

"No, she's right," Wonder Gal assured, "I can worry about it later. We should be putting as much distance between us and these guys before they regenerate."

"Then let us depart," Sonic declared, as the whole group began heading in the direction of the desert.

"Relax Trixie, your hair will look fine," Princess assured as they ran. "Maybe you just need a good hairstyle. Something that will cover it up for awhile…"

Once the group was gone, the robots began to regenerate themselves, with the severed arm still clutching on what it had claimed from Wonder Gal.

* * *

Deep in his lair, Dr. Crocktopus grinned as he watched the events unfold through the magic window he always used.

"Looks like you were successful, Bob," he noted as he glanced behind him. Bob was sitting there in a machine similar to the one he had used a few months prior, when he first showed off his robot army.

"Yeah, I could really get to liking this," the spirit laughed evilly.

Looking back at the window, the magical doctor rubbed his hands together. "Go ahead children, keep on fighting. The more vigorously you resist me, the more you play right into my hands!"

* * *

The desert outside Dimmsdale was nothing special, at least not in the eyes of a group of eleven-year-old kids and an alien who had seen far more unforgiving climates. The group had walked for awhile before coming to a rest at the bottom of a rather large cliff.

"You know," Muncher Lad said, collapsing to the ground and leaning on the edge of the cliff, "I'm starting to think that maybe we should have picked out some more desert-appropriate uniforms before we came here."

Most of the others were inclined to agree. Spandex was not exactly the best material to be wearing in the heat. Only Mark, Princess, and Ebony seemed to be immune to the immense heat.

"Yeah, we'll have to look in on that," Cleft admitted, removing his cap and fanning himself with it.

"How come you three aren't exhausted?" Sparky asked, glancing at the three who still looked full of energy.

"Oh, please, my mighty alien biology allows me to survive in many different temperatures and climates!" Mark boasted, throwing his arm tentacles up in the air.

"Yeah, and my powers totally keep me cool in this heat," Princess explained. "But it depends on liquid in the air. It's too dry out here, so I won't be cool for very long."

"Shadows naturally stay cool," Ebony said, "it's just a part of my powers."

"Well, we better find this place soon," Cleft said. "This heat's taking a toll on us and we won't be able to fight very effectively if we get attacked."

"Don't worry, according to this the signal is nearby. We just have to search the area until we…"

At that moment, something unusual happened. The cliff they were standing in front of began to shake, and then it split open. The heroes-in-training realized that there was a set of manmade steel doors built right into it.

"…find it," AJ finished, stunned by the development.

Every hero quickly got into battle stances, but they weren't quite quick enough. When the doors were just a foot apart, a black chin-a-rang flew out and into the group. The heroes scattered, but the weapon struck Sonic in the side, cutting him. Screaming in pain, the Indian hero cried in pain, dropping to the ground as the blood stained projectile arced and returned to where it had came from.

By now, the doors had opened, and the group could see clearly who had thrown it. Gary, of course, was standing there, giving a smug grin. Standing behind him, as usual, were his teammates: Aurora, Wendell, Stop, Go, Scorch, the Bull-E, Ace, and Tommy Numerous.

"Intruders…not cool," he said bluntly before the group of villains charged forward.


End file.
